1 25 21 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/53/650/PBoldyDA15020007.1.jpg 79d0c1663b27a8523495681950e25ecb https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/53/650/PBoldyDA15020008.1.jpg be70c4d76abc1877f8c4664ce00ce2ac Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Boldy, David Dave Boldy D A Boldy Description An account of the resource 334 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant David Adrian Boldy (1918 – 1942, 923995 Royal Air Force) and consists of his school reports, letters from school and photographs of family and locations in India, letters from training and service, and photographs from his social life and time training. It also includes newspaper cuttings and letters about him being missing in action. David Boldy was born and attended school in India and studied law at Kings College London. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force and trained as an air gunner in South Africa. He flew operations in Manchesters and Lancasters with 207 Squadron from RAF Bottesford. His aircraft failed to return from an operation to Gdańsk 11 July 1942. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by David Boldy and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.<br /><br />Additional information on David Boldy is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/102182/">IBCC Losses Database</a>. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Boldy, DA Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document Captioned ‘Air Gunners Qualifying Course No. 4 41 Air School (10. 3. 41 to 3. 5. 41)’ [Air School crest] ‘S. A. Air Force East London’. ‘Back row: A/Gnrs: H. Elk J. P. Woodliffe E. G. Harris F. B. White V. Oswald G. Meyer L. G. Tancred G. N. Jonas E. M. Moys A. L. Tennant T. W. Timoney R. W. E. Kingwell P. E. Methven H. W. Pasmore. Middle row: A/Gnrs: L. P. Stewart R. L. Skyrme-Jones A. Friedman W. A. Woodward T. J. Hawkey B. W. Edmonson F. J. Reed H. T. Hall G. P. Rowe C. A. Ryan K. G. du Pre R. S. Daniels L. E. Starling M. R. Jack A. E. Cohen. Seated: A/Gnrs: K. D. Ferris A. P. Cullerne A. T. Laing A/Cpl Y. V. McLoed JAI Lt G. Frolich officer i/c course Lt-Col R. S. Brophy V. D. o/c station Capt D. W. Pidsley CAI A/Cpl G. S. van Aswegen JAI F. R. Iken D. A. Boldy F. C. Ethell . Front row: A/Gnrs: J. Kerbel P. H. Jonker. Signatures on the reverse, D. A. Boldy R. A. F is underlined top left. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Air Gunners Qualifying Course No. 4 41 Air School Subject The topic of the resource World War (1939-1945) Great Britain. Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Description An account of the resource Group portrait of 42 airmen in three rows standing at ease. Those in the front row are sitting on a bench with arms crossed and two sitting on the ground; most are wearing khaki drill tunics, shirts and ties and shorts and most have khaki drill side caps but three sitting on the far left and three on the far right are in blue dress uniform, the latter three have white flashes on their caps. None wear brevets. In the centre of the front row sit three officers in South African Air Force uniforms with flying brevets and they are flanked each side by a man in non-British uniform; the central officer has a dog between his legs. The group is posed before the nose of a Hawker standing in the open doors of a hangar and inside on the right is a Tiger Moth. Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force South African Air Force Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. South Africa South Africa--East London Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 1941-04 1941-05 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One b/w photograph mounted on cardboard Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PBoldyDA15020007, PBoldyDA15020008 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-05-03 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Boldy, David. Folder PBoldyDA1502 aircrew animal hangar Tiger Moth training https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2773/49038/SBondS-DidwellNv10001-00040029.1.jpg 400ee13f8fae0060dcc0c3f5cbdcdfe9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Didwell, N Didwell, N (Bond, S collection) Description An account of the resource 114 items. Corporal Norman Didwell served as ground crew on 99 Squadron at RAF Mildenhall from 1939 and then in the Middle East. Collection consists of documents and photographs of people, places and aircraft from the squadron's time in Great Britain, India and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The collection was licensed to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Dr Steve Bond and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. This collection was provided, in digital form, by a third-party organisation which used technical specifications and operational protocols that may differ from those used by the IBCC Digital Archive. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-01-18 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SBondS-DidwellNv1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Airmen working on Wellington engine Description An account of the resource Two airmen atop a Wellington port engine. Step ladder just inboard of the engine. Submitted with caption 'Engine trouble, 99 Sqn Waterbeach Mar '41 [Norman Didwell]'. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03 Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Cambridgeshire Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One b/w photograph Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SBondS-DidwellNv10001-00040029 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive 99 Squadron ground crew ground personnel RAF Waterbeach Wellington https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1543/28489/BDowardATansleyEHv2.1.pdf a5bc3044ecbe7ba5221e2c6bfc701cf3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Tansley, Ernest Henry E H Tansley Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-09-22 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Tansley, EH Description An account of the resource 98 items. <br />The collection concerns Pilot Officer Ernest Henry Tansley (1914 - 1943, 149542 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as a pilot with 57 Squadron and was killed 2 December 1943. Collection consists of photographs, letters, memoires, biographies, accounts of operations, logbook extracts and official/personal documents.<br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Anne Doward and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br />Additional information on Ernest Tansley is available via the <a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/122894/">IBCC Losses Database.</a> Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document Anne Doward nee Tansley. I was born into war torn England in May 1940 and had a Mummy Irene, Daddy Ernie and a big brother Peter aged three. Dad was born in West Ham, Essex in 1914 and after leaving college, he went to work as an office clerk to a firm of Shipping Agents. After several years and by then married with a young son, he gave up office work and joined the Dock industry where he became a stevedore, the prospect of better wages being the incentive. Around the time I was born, and because of the unsettled times, my father was no longer living at home having been transferred from London to work in Scotland at Gourock Docks. I spent the first year of my life in Scotland because Mum was determined not to be separated from my father for longer than was necessary. I remember her telling me how she had travelled on the long train journey with three year old Peter and myself. At only six weeks old she had carried me in a suitcase (hopefully with the lid open). It wasn’t an easy journey to make with a small baby but the train was full of young servicemen who helped to keep Peter amused and made up bottles of milk for me, for which Mum was extremely grateful. After much research, I discovered that Dad, despite being in a reserved occupation had signed up to join the R.A.F in March 1941. Unhappy with the way the war was going, he wanted to help ensure a safe, happy future for his family. He was placed on the ‘reserve list and eventually called up in the August. After undergoing initial training in the UK, he was sent off to America to undergo his flying training as a pilot and he was there from December 1941 until his return to England in October 1942. Once back in England he continued with his training until July1943 when he and his seven chosen crew members were posted to 57 Squadron in Scampton, Lincolnshire to fly the Lancaster bomber. Tragically, they all lost their lives on a bombing raid to Berlin on the 2nd December 1943. My memories of Dad were very few indeed as I was only three years old, but I clearly remember that early December day when the telegram boy knocked at the door. We had been staying at the home of Mum’s parent’s, looking forward to Dad’s next leave, hopefully in time for Christmas. Mum answered the door, with me as usual, clinging to her skirts as I was always a shy little girl. She stood in the hallway and when she had finished reading the telegram, she sat down on the stairs and began to cry. Not having seen her cry before, or understanding why she was upset, I climbed onto her lap, put my arms around her and said “don’t cry mummy, I’ll look after you”. Three months later on the 12th of March 1944, Bobby arrived, my new baby brother. There are only a few precious memories of Dad which were imprinted on my mind all those years ago, probably because they were happy ones. At the time, we were living at 7 Church Hill, Thundersley, the last of four little bungalows on the side of very steep hill. We had probably moved there when Dad returned from his training in America. It overlooked lovely woods that were full of bluebells in the spring, and I remember watching children toboggan down the hill in the snow. Young Peter was probably in the thick of it! I know that Dad was gentle and kind and remember holding his hand as we walked Peter to school one day. It was in this bungalow that I have my few precious memories of Dad. I can see him now, so plainly, out in the back garden digging. It was a sunny day and Mum helped me down the steps at the back door so I could run down to help him. It was some years later that I asked Mum who the [page break] man was that I remembered in the garden. She simply said “that was daddy, digging me a veggie patch” I had just needed to know for sure that it was him. Another vague memory was when Dad must have come home on leave. We were all in the front room of this same bungalow and Dad was still in uniform. I remember he turned to Peter and myself and told us we could go and look in his bag to see what we could find. I remember well that the bag was in the hall, near the front door so he must have only just arrived. We ran out to the bag to open it but our little fingers struggled with the fastenings. Dad came to the rescue but sadly I cannot remember what that precious gift had been. My other remaining memory was in this same front room. Dad was again wearing his uniform and he was holding me in his lap. I had my coat and bonnet on and we were waiting for Mum to finish getting ready. Maybe he was going back after his leave and it was the last time I ever saw him – I will never know. After that, we must have lived with my grandparents in their lovely old house ‘The Poplars’ as that is where Bob was born and is where most of my memories are. Despite everything, they seem to be happy ones. There was a huge garden to play in, a sunken garden with fish pond, an orchard at the far end and always eggs to collect from the hens. Indoors, the scullery was one of my favourite places. This is where I would ‘help’ Nan when she was baking, sending flour everywhere and help Grandpop to mash up hard boiled eggs to feed to his baby canaries (he kept a lot of chickens). We spent many happy times in the parlour, gathered round the old black range and it was here that my grandfather would puff away at his pipe and blow smoke out of his ears. That always made us laugh and he would also tell us little ones, ghost stories. He was good at telling stories, but the ghost ones frightened the life out of me. It was in this room that a door led to the cupboard under the stairs and I remember the times when wailing sirens meant Peter and I were hurried out of bed in the dead of night to take shelter in there. Although there was a proper shelter in the garden, Mum always liked to keep us together in the cupboard, knowing I was frightened by the sirens and was afraid of the gas mask. In 1944 I had to have my tonsils removed and I remember Mum driving me to the hospital in Tilbury in a car she had borrowed. When I was taken to the ward I was dismayed to find I was being made to sleep in a cot, after being used to a bed at home. A little boy next to me had his tonsils removed on the same day as me and the next day he was given a bowl of ice cream. I sat eagerly hoping that I would get some too but all I was handed was a fig!! I took one bite and then threw it as far as I could under my cot. I was never given any ice cream! When Mum took me home however, I found that she had arranged a little party for me with sandwiches, cakes and jelly. Everyone tucked in but me, as my throat was still too sore but the jelly slid down nicely. The thing I hated most at the hospital was watching the blackout blinds being pulled down at night before we could have any lights on. At some time before I started school we moved to our own little bungalow, not far from my grandparents. Moving day was memorable because our local friendly coalman kindly did the honours, using his coal lorry! Opposite the school I later went to and which Peter was already attending, was a sweet shop where we were sometimes allowed to buy a penn’orth of our favourite sweets. Mine were liquorice [page break] comfits which I would carefully carry home in the twisted cone of paper. A luxury of being at school was the occasional tin of chocolate powder which all the children were given, courtesy of the Canadians. Peter used to help me prise the lid off my tin so we could sample it before reaching home. All three of Mum’s brothers prospered leaving her to struggle on the best she could. The visits to her dressmaker soon came to a halt and it was make do and mend, and for us children, other people’s hand me downs. I will never forget my eighth birthday when I unwrapped two new summer dresses and a pair on ankle socks. I thought all my Christmases had come at once. Mum didn’t seem able to settle for long and we moved around a lot before finally making our home in Hockley, Essex in 1949. This was the ninth home I had lived in !! It was a long unmade road, the houses interspersed with open fields and areas of woodland. It was lined with plenty of trees, many of which were fine old oaks. This is where we settled at last and spent our growing up years. By this time however, young Peter was ensconced in a boarding school, courtesy of the R.A.F. We had some good times there. Peaceful days when we could wander off to play in the woods, climb trees, play a game of make shift cricket or simply look for butterflies and grasshoppers in the long grasses. Sometimes we would meet up with old Mrs Muir, the ‘goat lady’ and the peace would be shattered by the noisy bleating, or we would all cycle to the nearby river to have a paddle, or if the tide was out, squelch in the mud looking for crabs, Mum included. We would then cycle home, happy but muddy and looking forward to tea. Mum was offered part time job in the local ‘corner shop’ which helped to eke out her R.A.F. pension. It could hardly be called a shop nowadays as it was in the front room of an old house run by two quite elderly sisters. The shop was dark and dusty and until I got to know them better I was rather afraid of going in there alone. A loud bell jangled over the door as you entered and because it was so gloomy, you had to be careful not to trip over the sacks of potatoes stacked on the floor. They sold sugar which was weighed out on scales to whatever amount you wanted, and then poured into stiff blue paper bags, and if you could only afford a quarter of a pound of butter, they quite happily cut a half pound pack in two for you. Although times were hard, Mum didn’t like us to always have margarine on our bread so she would buy half a pack of marge and another of butter and I usually had the job of blending the two together for teatime. There was no electricity in the road when we first moved there so no ‘mod cons’. No television, washing machine fridge, freezer, vacuum cleaner or central heating, even if you could afford them. A flat iron was heated up on the gas cooker and on many a night we cursed when we stuck our fingers through the delicate gas mantles when we went to light them. Matches and candles were always to hand. In the evenings we would play cards or shove-halfpenny, have a game of draughts, darts, do jig-saw puzzles or read. Sometimes, if the battery for the radio had been charged up, we would listen to things like ‘Dick Barton Special Agent’ when it was being broadcast. We would sit in the dining room with the lights out and watch the shadows dancing round the room from the flickering flames of the old black oil stove. They are all good memories. Although life wasn’t easy for Mum on her own and we had few luxuries, we always seemed happy enough and knew we were loved. She dedicated the whole of her life to us, even refusing offers of marriage as she didn’t want anyone else looking after ‘Dad’s children’. She wasn’t very good at showing us affection but she was always there for us. [page break] Mum was a very private person, keeping herself to herself and she made no real friends. None of us were very outgoing. Peter, when he returned from boarding school was a very different child. He had suffered badly at being taken away from the love of his family and had developed a bad stutter. He had, in fact, been robbed of is childhood and had grown up without the fun of being with his siblings and Bob and I had lost our much loved big brother who had always looked out for us. He had now become this serious young lad, taking on what he felt was his responsibility to the family. He went out and found himself a job in a printing firm when he was fourteen and they held the job open for him until he finished the next term at school so he could officially leave. Although the firm was taken over several times by larger companies, he stayed faithful to them. Peter gave up any chance of marriage and stayed at home to look after Mum, even tending her when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, until her death aged 69. Peter himself died from an unexpected heart attack when he was 64, and very sadly, Bob was the one who found him. Bob was different in as much as most of Mum’s love was showered upon him. Peter and myself accepted this, understanding, even at that young age, that he was the mainstay of her life, the last link to Dad. He was bullied at school and grew up with little self- esteem. He was a very nervous young man, completely lacking in confidence and has never really outgrown it. I love him dearly. That just leaves me. I have always been very shy and find it uncomfortable meeting with strangers face to face. Like Bob, I too lack confidence and being unsure of myself am easily hurt. My one success was when I wrote a little book about my search for my much loved Dad. I think the loss of a father figure from our lives at such an early age probably had a lot to do with the way we all turned out. My first introduction to the harshness of the outside world began in 1951 when I started at my Secondary school in Rayleigh, a neighbouring town. Hockley was a small village then and I had made one or two good friends in our close knit street, but at Secondary school I had to mix with ‘outsiders’. I suppose we had led a fairly sheltered life, Mum was always there to look out for us, so I was quite unprepared for my first day at the Tech. We were in our classroom, and when our teacher called out our names we had to stand up and answer his questions. Then it was my turn –“What does your father do?” “I don’t have a father” I blurted out. I could feel dozens of pairs of eyes looking at me. Why did I have to be the only one who did not have a father? That’s when the whispering started and in my ignorance, I didn’t know why. I just wished the ground would open up and swallow me. Still I had to stand there and give an explanation. When I arrived home from school that afternoon, I rifled through drawers and cupboards until I found a tiny creased photo of my dad which he had sent home from America. On the back was written – Carlstrom Field, Florida, and the date, 22nd January 1942, and it was where he had started his pilot training. I found it difficult to believe that this smiling young man, dressed in khaki like an American soldier, could possibly be my dad but I carried that photo with me every day after that, and I still do. It was over 50 years later that I discovered it had been taken on his 28th birthday. When I left school in 1956, I went to work in a Travel Agency. It was here that I had my first taste of flying, being entitled to cheap and sometimes free holidays. Life continued and I eventually married and had two lovely daughters. It wasn’t until the death of my younger daughter, Mandi, on Valentine’s Day 1989 at the age of just twenty one, that I recalled how important photographs [page break] were. I had made up a special album of photographs to remember her by, but what memories did I have of Dad. Obviously personal ones hardly existed and Mum could never bring herself to talk much about him and consequently had kept very little to remember him by. I felt that now was the time to begin my search. I had to find out about this dear man whom I had loved and missed for over 50 years, but where to begin… His death certificate was the first thing I applied for and even this showed information that was new to me. I now knew his rank and unit. Pilot Officer Ernest Henry Tansley, 149542, 57 Squadron. His age 29, place of death, Trebbin, Germany. What upset me most was written under date of death. 2nd December 1943- that I knew, but why ‘presumed’? I cast my mind back to my childhood and recalled Mum saying that he hadn’t been identified and had been presumed killed . For years I had lived in the hope that one day my daddy would walk through the door and everything would be alright again. I could now see that the ‘presumed’ applied to the date of death, but why didn’t they know? All sorts of possibilities flitted across my mind and I took out my small crumpled photograph and studied it again. Supposing he had survived the crash and had been lying somewhere, injured, with no on to help him. It didn’t bear thinking about and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know any more, so tried to put it out of my mind. After a few months, I decided to start my search in earnest and after about two years of writing to newspapers R.A.F magazines and the usual official sources etc. I was amazed by the amount of information I had collected. There were letters from wonderful, kind hearted veterans, many of whom had flown with 57 Squadron and were only too pleased to help in any way they could and others telling me of further sources and people I could contact. I stayed friends with many of these lovely men until they too ‘went to the skies’. From advertising in local newspapers, I eventually knew the names of all of Dad’s crew members and had contact with a relative for each one. They sent me photos and gave me background information on their loved ones. I managed to trace each of the 22 missions on which they had flown including Peenemunde, and the raids on Hamburg and Berlin. I discovered the place where their doomed Lancaster had crashed after being shot down and was in contact with a gentleman who lived in the houses next to the crash site. He even had a piece of the Lancaster, which he very kindly gave to me together with a map of the crash site and photos of the wreckage. The final flight of JB 529 DX-P was to Berlin on the 2nd December 1943, from East Kirkby airfield. Unexpected strong winds had blown many of the aircraft off course and Dad’s Lancaster was spotted, flying low, possibly already damaged, over the small town of Trebbin at 11pm German time. It was caught in searchlights and attacked by a JU 88 from the nearby Jutterbog airfield. PPeter retaliated but very sadly the aircraft exploded and all eight men on board were lost. SGT. IVOR GROVES. Wireless Op, age 20. SGT. LEONARD BROWN, Flt. Eng. age 20 P/O DOUGLAS PARK. Navigator, age 20. P/O ROY LEWIS, Mid-Up Gnr, age 21 P/O JACK DALTON. 2nd ‘dickie’ Pilot, age 22. SGT. HAROLD MOAD Rear Gnr, age 23 P/O ERNEST PATRICK ,Bomb aimer.age 25. P/O ERNEST TANSLEY PIlot, age 29 LET US KEEP THEIR CANDLES BURNING The result of this research culminated in me thinking I might be able to write a little book about the experiences of Dad and his crew. This I finally achieved in 1966. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Anne Doward nee Tansley Description An account of the resource Biography of Ernest Tansley's daughter Anne. Writes of background and family. Gives service history of her father including joining, training in England and the United States and eventual posting to 57 Squadron at RAF Scampton. Writes of her memories of her father including recollection of her mother receiving information that her father was killed in action, birth of her baby brother and other memories of her childhood and her mother coping with loss of her husband. Continues with experiences after the war and her eventual search for information about her father including his crew and their final operation. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource A Doward Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Six page printed document Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BDowardATansleyEHv2 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Essex United States England--Lincolnshire England--Thundersley Florida--Arcadia Germany Germany--Trebbin Florida Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1940-05 1941-03 1943-07 1943-12-02 1951 1942-01-22 1956 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource David Bloomfield 57 Squadron childhood in wartime heirloom Ju 88 killed in action Lancaster RAF East Kirkby RAF Scampton shelter shot down https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2559/43586/SLambertBrownP19330417v10009.2.pdf 3b873664b4f9c9724a4cf5b381ef9ed5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lambert-Brown, Peter P Lambert-Brown Description An account of the resource 12 items. The collection concerns Peter Lambert-Brown (b. 1933 Royal Navy). A collection of documents compiled for the Admiralty detailing the bombing of the Royal Navy Dockyards in Malta. The collection covers the siege of Malta and includes the various vessels and docks that were damaged, and the repairs that were undertaken carried out. The collection was donated to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jacqueline Sherman and catalogued by Benjamin Turner. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023-05-12 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context LambertBrown, P Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Appendix VI- Table of Raids Description An account of the resource Each page documents a table of attacks on the docks of Malta. The air raids detailed in the table record the raid number, number of casualties, damage (both place and extent) and damage to ships and equipment. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1940 1940-06 1940-09 1941-01 1941-03 1941-04 1941-05 1941-07 1941-08 1941-10 1941-11 1941-12 1942-01 1942-02 1942-03 1942-04 1942-05 1942-06 1942-07 1942-10 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Malta Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Navy Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 25 page typewritten report Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SLambertBrownP19330417v10009 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. bombing https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/152/1616/PHemsworthR15020027.jpg bfa0cda19a796d9a74379043baf0b9a3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Hemsworth, Ron Ron Hemsworth R Hemsworth Description An account of the resource 266 items. The collection consists of one oral history interview with Ron Hemsworth (1472158 Royal Air Force) and 265 photographs, mostly taken at Dulag Luft, Stalag Luft 1 and Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camps The photographs have been organised according the initial letters of the caption. A consists of 19 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in August 1942. They cover the non commissioned officers’ arts & crafts exhibition: some models are for display and others are for use; there are also paintings and jewellery. B of 54 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 1 and Dulag Luft, covering sporting, theatrical, musical and model making activities. The funeral of Sergeant J C Shaw, who was shot whilst attempting to escape is covered with several photographs. C consists of 42 photographs taken at the sports day at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in August 1942. Activities include rugby, running, high jumping, long jumping, long distance walking, shot putting, discus throwing and basketball. Betting on the events was carried on. D consists of 42 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in 1942 and 1943. They cover theatrical, musical and model activities. The plays were written or adapted by the airmen. Some of the models seen in section A are being sailed or steamed on the camp pond. E consists of 39 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in March and April 1943. They cover three plays written or adapted by the airmen. F consists of 28 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 3, Stalag Luft 1 and Dulag Luft prisoner of war camps. They cover two plays written or adapted by the airmen. Also shown are views of the camp, four recaptured escapees, a sentry in his box, the NCOs rugby team and Christmas dinner 1940. G consists of 38 photographs taken at the Flieger Jockey Club Gala Day at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in August 1943. There are many varied fancy dress themes in addition to jockeys - an American cheerleader and an Uncle Sam, cowboys and Indians, a Welsh and a Scottish section, Indian (Asian) marching band, Maoris, Highland dancing, a lot of men dressed as women, bands, top hatted 'toffs'. Betting activities were carried out on the results of the hobby horse type races shown. The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Ron Hemsworth and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Hemsworth, R Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-08-04 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource B28 Officers Arts & Crafts Exhib. Stalag Luft 1. Mar 41 Five model aircraft Description An account of the resource Five model aircraft. A twin-engine bomber on a stand, a seaplane, a Hurricane and two other aircraft. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942-03 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PHemsworthR15020027 Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Hemsworth, Ron collection. Subsection B Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One b/w photograph Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Germany--Barth Germany Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph prisoner of war prisoner of war arts and crafts Stalag Luft 1 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/152/1624/PHemsworthR15020034.jpg e510fce3ff111c6d84d6bb4f8e90287d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Hemsworth, Ron Ron Hemsworth R Hemsworth Description An account of the resource 266 items. The collection consists of one oral history interview with Ron Hemsworth (1472158 Royal Air Force) and 265 photographs, mostly taken at Dulag Luft, Stalag Luft 1 and Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camps The photographs have been organised according the initial letters of the caption. A consists of 19 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in August 1942. They cover the non commissioned officers’ arts & crafts exhibition: some models are for display and others are for use; there are also paintings and jewellery. B of 54 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 1 and Dulag Luft, covering sporting, theatrical, musical and model making activities. The funeral of Sergeant J C Shaw, who was shot whilst attempting to escape is covered with several photographs. C consists of 42 photographs taken at the sports day at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in August 1942. Activities include rugby, running, high jumping, long jumping, long distance walking, shot putting, discus throwing and basketball. Betting on the events was carried on. D consists of 42 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in 1942 and 1943. They cover theatrical, musical and model activities. The plays were written or adapted by the airmen. Some of the models seen in section A are being sailed or steamed on the camp pond. E consists of 39 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in March and April 1943. They cover three plays written or adapted by the airmen. F consists of 28 photographs taken at Stalag Luft 3, Stalag Luft 1 and Dulag Luft prisoner of war camps. They cover two plays written or adapted by the airmen. Also shown are views of the camp, four recaptured escapees, a sentry in his box, the NCOs rugby team and Christmas dinner 1940. G consists of 38 photographs taken at the Flieger Jockey Club Gala Day at Stalag Luft 3 prisoner of war camp in August 1943. There are many varied fancy dress themes in addition to jockeys - an American cheerleader and an Uncle Sam, cowboys and Indians, a Welsh and a Scottish section, Indian (Asian) marching band, Maoris, Highland dancing, a lot of men dressed as women, bands, top hatted 'toffs'. Betting activities were carried out on the results of the hobby horse type races shown. The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Ron Hemsworth and catalogued by Barry Hunter. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Hemsworth, R Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-08-04 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource B35 Arts & Crafts Exhib. Stalag Luft 1. Mar. 41 Model car and three model aircraft on a table top Description An account of the resource Large model car with three aircraft on stands. One is a Wellington and one is a Hampden. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PHemsworthR15020034 Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Hemsworth, Ron collection. Subsection B Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One b/w photograph Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Germany--Barth Germany Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph prisoner of war prisoner of war arts and crafts Stalag Luft 1 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1708/27820/PHuntlyRF20010010.1.jpg d2eef0d22896c55badb4ea706ced5df9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Huntly, Robert Fullerton. Album 1 Description An account of the resource 22 items. Photographs of his family. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-03-16 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Huntly, RF Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bob Huntly and Family Description An account of the resource Photo 1 is Bob and a woman, arm in arm. Photo 2 is three men and three women in a garden. Photo 3 is a man and his wife. Photo 4 and 5 are Bob, two men and two women. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Five b/w photographs on an album page Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PHuntlyRF20010010 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain aircrew observer https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1385/25518/SBakerDA19210428v20001-0001.jpg bfceeda30964d216ccdf3aec48cc0031 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1385/25518/SBakerDA19210428v20001-0002.jpg f306fb84e29bc1e4905d1be0c630c445 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1385/25518/SBakerDA19210428v20001-0003.jpg dcd7d0024e66108d15658728fb7f6993 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1385/25518/SBakerDA19210428v20001-0004.jpg cb45864444b63f56abcdf1b5bf48ec60 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1385/25518/SBakerDA19210428v20001-0005.jpg 7258d331d4e7afc5c9301f75f98d11b5 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1385/25518/SBakerDA19210428v20001-0006.jpg 69aa32c250c5560a6b53cb49da0b532f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Baker, Donald Arthur D A Baker Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018-11-13 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Baker, DA Description An account of the resource 187 items. Donald Arthur Baker (b. 1921) travelled from Southern Rhodesia to England in 1940 to join the Royal Air Force. Trained as a pilot in 1941 he was operational with 144 Squadron at RAF North Luffenham flying Hampdens. He was shot down on 5 November 1941 and remained a prisoner of war mostly in Stalag Luft 3 until 1945. He return to farm in Southern Rhodesia after the war. The collection contains letters to his mother throughout the war as well as other correspondence and documents including his prisoner of war log with photographs and notes. The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by June Baker Maree and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. Access Rights Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. Permission granted for commercial projects Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document A DIARY OF DAD’S WAR TIME STORY TAKEN FROM LETTERS WHICH HE WROTE TO HIS MOTHER IN RHODESIA. The letters were always addressed “My Dearest Mother” and signed off “Your loving son, Donald” We don’t really know why the letters were not addressed to both his father and mother. The letters were written on a fairly regular basis, every one or two weeks, and in addition to that he “wired” home regularly as the letters took between 6 weeks and two months to reach home. Once Dad was in the POW camp the news was mundane and occasionally censored. My impressions from the letters were his strong mindedness to become a pilot, get his wings and be a part of the real action in the war. He never mentioned what happened on the night of the 5th November when his plane was shot down, and anything about his rescue, capture and interrogation. Once the war was over he very seldom spoke about this time in his life, but I want to fill in the gaps, and piece together information to complete the story. JUNE 1940 The first letter written to his mother was on the 8th June 1940 using Rhodesian Railway’s letterhead, from the Chief Accountant’s Office in Bulawayo. Dad was then just 19 years old. Obviously there had been talk of the war but not much serious thought given to it as he mainly wrote about his sport which at the time was “rugger” second league, and due to an ankle injury he had to give it a rest for 3 weeks. Dad’s social life was also the topic of conversation, having been to a cabaret, the first he’d been to for a long time and he enjoyed it as his partner was a bit of allright. [sic] Being a member of the Bulawayo Young Peoples club also provided some form of social life. And then his place of abode also cropped up “Shifted into the Sussex Hotel at the end of the last month. It is allright [sic] so far, but will soon tire of it I expect. My roommate has a wireless so we are quite comfortable. The room wasn’t exactly built last year” And then, as if an afterthought after he’d closed off, he told his mother that he had received his Certificate of Registration. The next letter was undated, and starts off by apologising to his mother who was obviously worried about him, the reason being that Dad had forgotten to post the previous letter. Tobacco was fetching good prices that year in Rhodesia. Talk of the war is now an important topic in the letter and the beginnings of his political interests starting to bud. “Yes things definitely seem to have taken a bad turn for us overseas. However, I reckon it will serve to make the British nation wake up as we seem to have felt before that we couldn’t help winning just because we are in the right. However I guess the Germans will have to put all they’ve got and a bit more if they reckon on conquering Britain in a month or two. Fancy France capitulating under the terms imposed by Hitler. However, I suppose they would only have been wiped out completely. I have been caught for part-time training. I only wish they would call me for the air force as I can’t imagine that I am helping by paying the occasional pensioner. A woman could do the job [underlined] nearly [/underlined] as well.” Douglas Legg, who had joined the RAF, was probably an influence in Dad’s life as he paid Dad a visit and said he was having the time of his life in Salisbury. Work at the office was getting busy; the war increased the amount of work he had to do. But still there other things he needed to tell his mother. This girl he used to write to in Nyasaland had written saying she was passing through on her way to the falls with her parents. “Well, they came last Thursday and stayed at the Grand. Apparently the girl became “society” after she left Umtali. She is only 17 but anyone would think she was 27 what with earrings, lipstick and rouge. The “old man”, a hang of a pompous guy of course had to have some drinks. In my best tone I said a shandy, but you can imagine my surprise when this kid says “gin & mixed”. I just pole-vaulted out of the door and was sick the next day. I was just out of my element.” Lastly, it did not look like he would make it home for the Rhodes & Founders weekend because of the training scheme that had been implemented and public holidays were part of the deal. [page break] The letter that followed was written in pencil, undated, still using the RR letterhead. Granny had been down to visit Phyllis in Chipinga. The weekend following was R & F and it was just an impossibility to get home for that. One chap had seen the magistrate, adjutant and Colonel to get off but they weren’t having it. The General Manager had written and said Dad was being called up on the first July or soon afterwards. Dad had written to the RAF to request that he is drafted with recruits going overseas and he needed to train his replacement at work. “I am teaching a new woman to do my job so am pretty busy. It’s a hang of a job because she is new to the work and every little thing has to be explained an [sic] I am not by any means an eloquent orator” Jack had written to Dad and also wanted his company for the R & F weekend but that was not going to happen. Letter no. 4 dated the 13th July, marked the commencement of his military career. Written on plain paper, in pencil, the envelope marked “On Active Service” and posted from the No. 2 training Centre, Bulawayo meant that he was “doing his stuff”. His call up number was No. 778186. He had to report on Friday 12th July to the RAF and he was preparing to be sent either to England or Canada for training. “There is a big crowd of us in camp. I am n [sic] the second draft and we leave not long after the first, which is said to be leaving next Wednesday. We are said to be following them about 1 week afterwards but of course this is not in the least official but everyone says the same so I guess there must be something in it.” Dad was so hoping to go home for a visit first, he needed to bring his kit home and sort out one or two things like his insurance policy and money matters. He was bored in the camp as they did very little, only about 2 hrs drill a day and the rest of the day they just loafed. Issy and Horace were both in the camp with him. Granny had sent him £1 and about which he had to say the following “It will be more useful than ever now, as it is bitterly cold here especially sleeping on the ground. However it’s for a good cause and the fellows are pretty happy.” (I think Harold Wilson needed to be reminded of that when he betrayed the very men who fought so gallantly for England in the War.) Dad was so glad it was the RAF and thought it would be No 1 if he could have been sent to Canada as he never knew when he would see that country otherwise. This was the last letter written from home soil, before sailing by ship approximately the 28th July 1940. There are no details about which port he sailed from or his voyage over, except that he had posted a letter from Cape Verde to granny, but that is not with the collection of letters that I have. I would like to find out some more information on the journey to the port and whether or not he saw his family before leaving. JOURNEY TO ENGLAND BY SHIP AS A RECRUIT FOR THE RAF The address on the next letter dated 26th August 1940, reads as follows: DA Baker, RAF no. 778186, Rhodesian Air Contingent, C/o The High Commissioner for S. Rhodesia, Rhodesia House, 429 Strand, London WC2. Dad was stationed at Bridgenorth, Sulop, [sic] Shropshire. He had probably been off ill as he started the letter saying he was feeling fit again though he had not really got his voice back. (Probably picked up flu whilst travelling on the crowded ship.) “I haven’t started on any Air Force work yet. We are just doing marching and a spot of musketry now and again. We were all injected against Typhoid and Tetanus or something like that last Saturday. However apart from a fairly stiff arm it did not affect me at all. We were given 48 hours Light Duty after it so had quite a loaf. We all had to go for a shoot today. The distance was 25 yards and we were given 25 shots to blaze into the target. The chaps here reckoned the Rhodesians could shoot well enough so they did not take our scores. Consequently the fellows were shooting the props and knocking the targets down.” Dad had been to Wolverhampton but found things expensive, rationing made some things difficult to find. Cigarettes (decent ones) were 1/6 for 20 but Dad obviously had a good stock of them as he had bought 500 on the boat for 12/6. The beer in England was not to their liking. “People here are very hospitable to Colonials and make us very much at home. The fellows in camp are not so keen on us as they reckon we are rather a “tough” and ungentlemanly crew. Of course [page break] there is a general feeling of sort of superiority having come 7000 miles and all that sort of thing. We are all looking forward to getting to our squadrons as this camp is getting on our nerves because actually it is only a camp to instil discipline and all we seem to do is march, spit and polish and clean up our knives and forks and plates, but we are getting used to the last part as we had that on the boat” … “Must get my wings on my chest or some badge as I really couldn’t just stay down on the ground and polish plugs … We were all very proud of the uniforms the first day, but there are so many men in kit that it has worn off.” The planes flying overhead at night and air raid sirens seemed to keep everyone awake at night. Dad started to make contact with relatives, Uncle Jim and the rest of them up there in Scotland and was planning on a visit. Family news cropped up in the letter as Harry and Betty were married and his best wishes were bestowed on them. The next letter was not dated, but presumably written a week or so after the last approximately the 1st September 1940. Written on blue writing paper with ink pen. Dad still had not received any of his mother’s letters since leaving Rhodesia. He had received mail from Aunt Ella and Aunt Bess (Somerset). “They seem to think I am one big hero coming all this way to join the Air Force and all that sort of stuff. We are supposed to be leaving this camp anytime from now to go to a training school. We hear the Germans every night, supposed to be raiding the Midlands towns and they all seem to pass pretty near here. Am getting quite used to being “droned” to sleep” “Had a bit of fun in a bus the other day. A pal and I were speaking Afrikaans and we heard everyone saying we must be Polish. You can imagine their surprise when we spoke to the conductor in perfectly good English. When they heard we were Rhodesian, they didn’t half make a fuss of us. Everyone here seems to think that colonials are just the cats pyjamas, in particular the girls.” Still no news from the relatives up north, but expecting to hear from them soon. We are supposed to be leaving this camp anytime from now to go to a training school. A lot of Rhodesian have already left for their respective centres and am also keen to start on something new as we do nothing but drill here from morn till night. We hear the Germans every night, supposed to be raiding the Midlands towns and they all seem to pass pretty near here. Am getting quite used to being “droned” to sleep” Air Raid sirens still an annoyance, but also such a dismal sound. The All Clear sounded a lot better. They knew when German planes flew overhead because they had did not have [sic] a steady roar “but comes in intervals”. Bombs had been dropped fairly close by at 3 am one morning and some people were killed. For entertainment the lads when [sic] into Wolverhampton to watch a “bio” and a bus ride but because of they had to be in at 9.30 and the bus ride was an hour to get back, their night life was severely curtailed. On the 9th September Dad wrote that he was pleased to have had some mail from home at long last. He had begun to think that there was no more British merchant Navy, the letter took so long! Dad was thrilled to have been accepted as a pilot but was waiting in anticipation for the Medical Test, which was to follow in two days time. “I sincerely hope I pass (Medical) as I am looking forward immensely to get a crack at these bally Nazis that we hear every night. It is most annoying to lie in bed and just listen to them and not be able to do anything about it. However will just have to put up with that for another five months and then maybe I’ll get a chance to do something as a pilots course takes at least that long … The Empire relies on me to turn the tide” It was obvious from his letters by now that Dad wanted to be part of the action and did not enjoy doing things like foot drill on the square every day. Only the aircrews were left in the camp, all the Rhodesians having been drafted to various stations. The weather was now beginning to get pretty cold; winter was just around the corner. The next letter was written on the 16th September 1940 on blue stationary, still stationed at Bridgnorth. He was very pleased to tell his mother that he passed his Medical for a pilot and was now waiting to be posted for training. Good news – 175 Germans down yesterday. The weather had changed since his last [page break] letter, drizzle and cold. On a social visit to Wolverhampton the sirens went off at 8. pm but the dance they were at continued, despite the raid. “We left at about 10 pm and so tried to get lodgings and we walked that town till 2 am without success. In desperation we went to an air raid shelter and managed to get an hours sleep till 6 o’clock. We then found an hotel that we knew about but couldn’t find it in the “black out” and lost ourselves in the effort. However we took a bed at 6 am and breakfast at 2 pm. What a night as it was cold and raining and nobody seems to be able to direct one to anywhere decent. Saw a 6 weeks old Chronicle today. Big headlines about Rhodesian Air Contingent arriving in Britain. Must have caused quite a consternation when we left at the dead of night. Yes, I heard you shout” (I wonder if that meant granny was at the station to see them off?) On Thursday the 26th September 1940, using the official Air Force letterhead but still using the Rhodesia House address in London Dad wrote “I suppose by now Harry will be back from his honeymoon” Dad had managed to get to Somerset to see his relatives. He went by train, changing at Birmingham and a few other places before arriving at Castle Cary. He surprised everyone by arriving unannounced. He wrote about Aunt Bess, Uncle Jack, Dan, Bruce, Bert Baker, visiting Wyke house, people in Millbourne Port. “I had a jolly fine weekend and really enjoyed it.” The weather was getting increasingly colder in Bridgnorth. (That was quite a journey there and back considering Dad had to change trains quite often, catch a bus and walk a fair distance without having any directions from the relatives, and being new to England.) On Friday 9th October 1940 Dad wrote from his new base, in Paignton near Torquay. “It is very lovely down here, as the scenery is so wonderful. Most of the air Force here is billeted in Hotels as it used to be a very popular seaside resort in peacetime. There are four of us in my room (all Rhodesians) and it is not too bad as we have plenty of fresh air with a big window overlooking the sea.” However the next day they were leaving for a 3 week Maths course at another camp nearby. Thereafter there would be a 5 weeks Navigation Course, 8 weeks at Elementary Flying School, 8 weeks at Advanced Training School, altogether six months of hard work before seeing any action. If Dad failed any of the exams then his future career as a pilot would come to an end, leaving them with the option of gunner or observer, so naturally Dad was very keen to pass. “The atmosphere at a Pilots Training School is much different to the last place I was at as generally speaking the fellows are pretty “high class” and the Officers and M.C.O’s [sic] are the very best they can find, and cadets are treated more or less like gentlemen again.” [underlined] November 19th 1940. [/underlined] With the postal service taking some 6 weeks to 2 months to reach Rhodesia, Dad wrote to wish every one a happy and prosperous New Year at home. He was anticipating spending Christmas with one of the relatives. “Am just continuing on the same old course which should be finished at the end of this week as we have started on the various exams. We were issued with flying kit the other day and believe me it is really lovely stuff and warm as anything.” Being mid-winter and Dad did not tend to go out much, apart from a dance which was rather overcrowded so he went home early. Also the black out didn’t make it easy to get around after dark. With exams coming up Dad chose to a spot of swotting instead. [sic] Letter dated 15th December 1940 on official RAF letterhead, pale blue with envelope to match and 6 ha’penny stamps arrived in Inyazura on the 18th February 1941. (By then the news was so out of date it must have been frustrating for the family keeping up with Dad’s news.) Dad was saddened by the news of Harry Roberts. “I am very sorry indeed to hear such sad news and it is terribly hard luck on Phyllis. However as you say Phyllis has courage and I’m sure she’ll bear up and get over it but nevertheless it must have been an awful shock to her.” In the meantime Dad had some leave and visited relatives in Scotland for the first time. He stayed with the Tullochs, relatives on his mother’s side, went to see Uncle Jim’s school where he more or less took the salute. Babs Tulloch, his cousin was studying at medical school so he did not see much of her, but [page break] they managed to Jack Buchanan at the Kings Theatre. [sic] His Uncle Jim Dunn gave him a lecture of about two hours on religion which he was in the habit of doing but Dad “took his dose like a lamb as he didn’t think he was in a position to argue about such things”. He also visited an Auntie Isobel who was busy in the shop. Then he also met with Bella Stephenson, and Aunt Nellie, Bella Strachan and her husband. Dad had not forgotten his sister and sent her a telegram of condolences from Glasgow. The trip up to Glasgow was not that easy, the train service was not good because of the air raids and it took from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon at 4.30 to arrive. He was exhausted as he had not slept much on the train on the Friday night and then stopped over at a B&B in Carlisle that cost him 6d. The journey back was equally as long and tedious and caused him to be one day late so he was in a spot of trouble. In the meantime the training in Paignton was progressing, all necessary exams passed and just waiting to be posted to an EFTS. and Dad had been promoted to Leading Aircraftsman. The pay went up from 2/- to 5/6 per day. The rest of the letter concerned money matters and his insurance policy and an offer of money for Phyllis. It was a very newsy letter, extra long to make up for the week he lost. Letter dated the 29th December 1940 described his Christmas in Paignton where there was a lot doing and which he enjoyed. There was a dance in Torquay, which they left late and had to get a taxi home. A very benevolent family had three of them for Christmas midday dinner, which seemed strange to him. He and his roommate visited this family a number of times as they enjoyed the warmth and peaceful atmosphere away from the barracks. Over the Christmas period he went to a couple of dances which he enjoyed thoroughly. (I think his time in Paignton was the happiest for him.) 1941 5th January 1941. Saw snow for the first time, some six inches of snow on the hills and around and bitterly cold weather. On a route march into the hills the fellows participated in some snow fights which resulted in some facial injuries because the snow was frozen. All the ponds were frozen up and walking quite dangerous, worst of all is doing PT outside in a vest and shorts “which nearly kills us” Still in Paignton in seems, [sic] expecting to leave for E.F.T.S. soon near Hull once the weather clears up a little. New Years eve was a big success, went to a local dance. Otherwise not much news, just a mention of some friends of Dad’s from Rhodesia and what they doing [sic] in the Air Force. On 14th January, Dad wrote that he had been posted to 4 E.F.TS. flying school in Brough, fairly near Hull. Kept very busy, lots of lectures and then studying. Lectures all morning and then flying the in the afternoon, [sic] weather permitting. The students had to average well over 60% on all subjects in order to pass “Up to now have done 2 and a half hours which is all dual, just learning the various manoevers [sic] etc. but the instructor is always there to check up and show you how it should be done. It is just fine flying around. We have a very nice lounge and separate writing room nicely furnished. We have tablecloths again, cups and saucers instead of mugs and last but not least by a long way … we have butter, jam and sugar on the table. There is also a mess where we can get beer and soft drinks so generally speaking we are living like gentlemen. We sleep out every second night in an old Sunday school building so that in the event of a lot of air raids we can get a decent nights sleep, but nothing has happened so far”. Usual address “Some where in England” 24th January 1941. Due to good old English weather no flying for nearly a week. Dad had to placate Granny, she was worried and not heard from Dad for so long. The reason being that mail from the UK 2nd – 22nd November had gone missing, which is hardly surprising consider [sic] there was a war going on. “We are trying to learn all sorts of things to become pilots and it seems to me as if being able to fly a plane is about the least important thing. This navigation is still a bit of a myth to me as there are such an awful lot of things to do and work out before starting on a flight. It is such a common thing to hear about a bomber going to the other end of Germany and back that it seems childs [sic] play, but I’m thinking they are pretty smart.” Doesn’t that sound just like Dad! [page break] Very welcome post received from his mother, and a letter from Harry which took Dad about an hour to decipher! The sea voyage did not have a good effect on the chocolate so Dad asked his mother not to send anymore, cigarettes yes! Sunday 2nd February 1941. The usual discussion about letters received and sent, the miserable weather and lack of flying. Examinations passed but more to come, lectures from 8.30 – 5.30. Sunday’s in England not much happening and “must be just about the sleepiest thing imaginable”. 12th February 1941. Not much to report other than a bit of flying and about ready to go solo, weather permitting. So far Dad had done 8 hrs flying, but needed to get in 42 hours flying before moved to next base for more advanced training. Some correspondence exchanged between Dad and Babs Tulloch, who had sent Dad a pair of woollen knitted gloves. Socially not much happening, the closest place is Hull but the bus costs a bit too much. However they did get to see a bio: Erol Flynn “The Sea Hawk” and then went to an enjoyable dance in the evening. 18th February 1941 Dad keeping fit, received a couple of newspapers dated 27th December and 3rd January, so a bit out of date by then. Douglas Leggo getting married. No letters from his mother in five weeks which was cause for concern and also had no news about Buster. Still busy with exams, very little flying because of the weather, so not much news. 24th February 1941 Two letters had arrived, and about 4 newspapers so news from home was very welcome. Busters kids had whooping cough at the festive season. Final exams finished, just waiting for results. Lots of flying when the weather is good, and recently had some sunshine. Not much news, pretty much the same thing done every day. 10th March 1941 Still at Brough and ground instruction now completed. Up until then Dad had only flown 25 hours in 8 weeks. Letters received from Mrs. Bartons niece, Babs Tulloch but still so few letters coming through from Inyazura. Dad wanted snaps of Charlton, Harry;s [sic] honeymoon. And then a big money mix-up: “Do you remember that time I was hard up and cabled home for money. Well you cabled £11.10.0 but the post office at Paignton made a mistake and sent me only 10/- which at the time seemed rather strange, but I couldn’t do anything about it. However they discovered it about 2 months later (that was honest of them) and have duly paid over the remaining £11 with much apology.” (This letter took a whole two months to get to IY) Posted from Cary Hill House, Castle Cary, Bath Sunday 30th March On 10 days leave, so visited relatives. “Arrived here last night and meant to make it an unheralded visit but I had a telegram waiting for me when I arrived to say that leave had been extended from 2nd April to 9th April. When my leave is over I have to report to my new station, which is about 40 miles north of London. I believe it si [sic] quite a nice place so I hope I shall enjoy it there. Actually I was quite sorry to leave Brough as we had grand crowd of fellows there and we had a good time” The letters written in April must have gone astray, 11th May 1941 was the date of the next letter. First solo cross country was [deleted] from here [/deleted] [inserted] across [/inserted] to Worcester then north of Shresbury, [sic] passed right over the old camp at Bridgnorth. The next cross country was a bit of an adventure, having got lost near Salisbury, and after flying around in circles for about an hour they had to make an emergency landing to refuel. Started night flying on the 10th May, only started at 3 am because of an air raid. There had been a tragedy the previous week when the instructor and another pupil cam [sic] into land with its navigation lights on. the Germans spotted it and shot at it. They had to crash land and the pilot and instructor were wounded Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Donald Baker's war time story (taken from letters which he wrote to his mother in Rhodesia) Description An account of the resource Starts in June 1940 based on letters written to his mother. Describes life in Rhodesia, before being called up and travelling to England. He discusses war, as well as work and social life and initial training in Rhodesia. He goes on to describe a little of his journey by ship and the life in England, including bombing. He mentions RAF basic training camps in August 1940, as well as the medical for pilot and starting training (maths and navigation courses). He describes spending Christmas in Scotland, whilst on leave. In January 1941 he is sent for elementary flying training which is completed about March 1941. Account finishes in May 1941 and mentions getting lost and emergency landing. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Six page printed document Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SBakerDA19210428v20001 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Royal Air Force Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Zimbabwe Zimbabwe--Harare Zimbabwe--Bulawayo Great Britain England--London England--Shropshire England--Bridgnorth England--Staffordshire England--Wolverhampton England--Devon England--Paignton England--Yorkshire England--Hull England--Somerset England--Castle Cary Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1940-06 1940-07 1940-08 1940-09 1940-10 1940-11 1940-12 1941-01 1941-02 1941-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Tricia Marshall Maureen Clarke RAF Bridgnorth RAF Paignton training https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1333/20533/PSearleROJ17030029.1.jpg 4c19750c73a8e722e43766cc35bbd895 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1333/20533/PSearleROJ17030030.1.jpg 719798e8af5a8cc6eddc8ad51bf14fda Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Searle, Rex. Album 1 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-07-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Searle, ROJ Description An account of the resource 74 items. The album contains photographs and papers relating to Rex Searle's pre-war family life as well as his wartime and postwar service. Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document [Photograph] GREETINGS FROM AFRICA [Page Break] You can see our first port of call on this – Freetown. R. [deleted][ indecipherable word][/deleted] March, 1941. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Greetings from Africa postcard Description An account of the resource A postcard of Africa with a native child sitting. On the reverse there is a reference to Freetown being their first port of call. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One postcard Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PSearleROJ17030029, PSearleROJ17030030 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Sierra Leone Sierra Leone--Freetown Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource David Bloomfield Claire Monk Requires A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence. Workflow A completed https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/676/10079/AAskewMV180115.mp3 5613964e24f35278a9b629ff9e2471b1 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/676/10079/PAskewMV1801.jpg 9fc40a4f28c38c4178deb83918346de7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Askew, Maurice Vivian M V Askew Description An account of the resource An oral history interview with Maurice Vivian Askew (b. 1921 1098180 Royal Air Force). He flew operations as a flight engineer with 207 squadron and became a prisoner of war. The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018-01-15 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Askew, MV Transcribed audio recording A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document GT: This is Monday the 15th of January 2018 and I’m in the home of Mr Maurice and Doris Askew of Christchurch, New Zealand. Maurice was RAF Volunteer Reserve number 1098180. Maurice was born 6th August 1921, Redditch, Worcestershire, England and joined the RAF in March 1941 as an aircraftsman. He worked in maintenance units and then volunteered and trained as a flight engineer for aircrew in 1943 at RAF St Athan, and qualified as an FE sergeant. He crewed at RAF Syerston, Number 5 Lancaster Finishing School and joined 207 Squadron at RAF Spilsby. Hello, Maurice. Thank you for allowing me to interview you for the IBCC Archives. MA: It, it will be a pleasure. I hope it will be a pleasure talking to you. GT: Excellent. MA: We’ll see. Yeah. GT: And we also have your lovely wife Doris sitting here too. MA: Right. Yeah. GT: And she’s going to help us with some of the bits and pieces to fill in too. So she’s, she’s very much with it and exactly what we’re, just Maurice can you please tell me a little bit about where you grew up and why you wanted to join the Royal Air Force? MA: I grew up in a small town in Worcestershire called Redditch and when the war broke out it was necessary for me to be in one of the services. If I didn’t volunteer for any service it would be the army. So, I didn’t fancy the army but the RAF was waiting to welcome me and I joined the RAF in [pause] when? DA: ‘41. MA: 1941. Yeah. 1941. Now what? GT: And as you joined up as an engineer fitter. Aircraft technician. MA: A flight. GT: An aircraftsman there. MA: Yeah. An aircraftsman. GT: Yeah. MA: Okay. GT: So, you were responsible for engines and air frames. MA: Yeah. Yeah. GT: And from there you went, still wanted to go in the air didn’t you? MA: I’m trying to — GT: You wanted to become a flyer. MA: Yes. So, I was based in — GT: In RAF St Athan. MA: St Athans. Yes. But after a time I felt I should be flying and so I transferred to training at Spilsby to become a flight engineer which was a step beyond a mechanic I suppose. GT: How was that training? Did you, did you find it difficult moving from a ground job to an air job? Or was it just a simple? It was easy. MA: No. No. It was just a straightforward move from one job to another. GT: And, and the flight engineer job working on the aircraft as a flyer was no different you thought. MA: I don’t know how I can put it quite. I’m sorry. GT: Your, your experience though Maurice was what you wanted to do. You wanted to fly and you achieved that. And so, so then the moving to finding a crew. You went to Syerston, to Number 5 Lancaster Finishing School. MA: Yes. GT: Can you describe how you found your skipper and your crew? MA: And then a number of flight people got together in the, in a hall where we sorted ourselves out. Pilots, flight engineers, and so on. And I’m not putting this very well. GT: You’re doing — MA: My wife can explain. GT: You’re doing very well. That’s fabulous. Yeah. That’s the information we’re after. And therefore you found your skipper. MA: My skipper. How I came — DA: Wally Jarvis. MA: To get the link up with Wally — GT: Yeah. MA: I’m not sure. We just liked one another although in a way we were quite different. Wally was a light boxer actually. I wasn’t a boxer at all. But we got on so well somehow and continued our training together as pilot and flight engineer. GT: And you were joined by your, you joined up with a navigator and wireless operator too. MA: And in a similar way we picked up navigators and gunners. I’m not putting this well. GT: Yes. I’ve got, your navigator was Sid Pearson. DA: Yes. GT: And your wireless operator was Jeff Moray. MA: Yes. GT: Is that right? Yeah. And your bomb aimer was Phil Paddock. MA: That’s right. That’s the name of our crew. GT: Yeah. And then you had two Canadians as your gunners. MA: Yeah. GT: That’s great. So then you were at Spilsby. MA: That’s right. Yes. GT: Yeah. MA: We went to Spilsby where we trained in various aspects of Air Force life I suppose [pause] sorry. It’s gone. It’s gone. GT: Yeah. That’s good. That’s good. So, at Spilsby. That’s in Lincolnshire, isn’t it? MA: Yeah. GT: So, so you weren’t far away from the main action of all the airfields. So, you did your first operation and you were just saying to me that was Berlin, that was your first op. MA: Yes. My first op with the crew was to Berlin. GT: And that was about February 1944. MA: Yes. Yeah. It all went quite well actually and we returned. GT: It was very busy night you said in your book. There was lots of fireworks going on. MA: Berlin, of course was a major target in those days. I just remember lots of fireworks going off. You know — GT: And you, and you certainly managed to get back okay so that was fabulous. But, but it was, it was the next night, on your second operation of your crew on the 19th and 20th of February and you were flying in EMA for Able. MA: Yeah. GT: Aircraft number EE126. MA: Yes. GT: And your target was — MA: Leipzig. GT: Leipzig. Can you, can you remember what happened? MA: We set off for Leipzig and [pause] GT: You had some, you had a Messerschmitt 110 come at you didn’t you? Your gunners, your gunners took at them. MA: As we, as we reached the target going in there were fireworks and so on in front of us we were attacked by a Messerschmitt. GT: And that set you on fire so you had to get out, eh? And I see you’ve written in your book that Philip was a little bit stuck trying to get out so you gave him a bit of a push to get out. And Wally was blown out of the, out of the cockpit. So they were saved. DA: Yes. GT: Yeah. And what? You managed to pull your rip cord, okay. MA: Automatically I presume. As I went out. GT: Because you knocked yourself unconscious. MA: And the side of the cockpit exit hatch hit me and I passed out to come around as I was just above the ground which I thought was the sea because of white waves. But suddenly as I hit the ground as it was I passed out again. DA: It was snow. MA: And of course, the ground had been covered. Was covered in snow at that time. GT: And you were rescued? You were rescued then, and a family took you in and looked after you. Is that right? MA: This is a mess. I’m sorry. GT: Yeah. Maurice, you’re doing fine. So, so in this case though you survived the snow and you were taken prisoner of war. MA: And picked up by some farm people who took me to their farmhouse, patched me up as best they could, gave me something strong to drink and there I stayed for two days perhaps until the RAF sent RAF police to pick me up. DA: Well — MA: Yeah. The German. German police. DA: German. MA: German police. GT: Yeah. MA: Yeah. Taken then for a time to a police station where I was kept for a few days and then later the German Air Force picked me up and I was taken to [pause] No, it’s gone. I’m sorry, it’s gone. GT: So, it’s taken prisoner of war that’s, that’s a, it’s a pretty big time and in this case you’ve written quite a bit about it in your beautiful books here Maurice and I think our listeners would be, would get a great sense of, of the time you spent with them and we can let you let you know of those books. So that was, that was over a year and a, a year and a bit you were a prisoner of war. So you had many of the other British flyers with you or Americans. Or — MA: I’m not putting it very well, am I? DA: In the prisoner of war camp there was British wasn’t there? MA: Sorry, I can’t — GT: Yeah. Lots of Royal Air Force. Yeah. So, so during, when it came time for the end of the war there you were repatriated back to England. Did you fly? Did Lancasters pick you up? Or how did you get back from Europe? DA: Oh well, you all escaped from the guards didn’t you when the war finished. MA: We were being marched from one German prison camp to another and at the end of the war the camp in which we were was thrown open and the German guards left and we were left on our own to get back to England as best we could. We waited for a time in the camp until we were picked up by a British group who then took us to one of the local German airfields where we were put together with a lot of other American err British ex-prisoners and flown back to England. DA: You could mention about how you went to some more and went from the camp and you commandeered that German car, and you drove to the — MA: I don’t think it’s good. DA: You didn’t think it‘s right. MA: I don’t think it’s good. No. I’m sorry. GT: So, Maurice, once you, did you demob straight away or did you stay in the RAF from that time? Yeah. DA: You were sent home on leave weren’t you? For a month. MA: That’s right. DA: And every time the month was nearly up they wrote another letter and said it’s extended. MA: And this went on for about three or four months, didn’t it? DA: Yes. Yes. MA: So, I was in the RAF in Britain. DA: But at home. MA: Taking, looking after trainees and people. DA: And we got married. GT: Yeah. So where did you meet Doris? DA: Oh, we’d known each other before the war. MA: Before the war. DA: Yeah. MA: Yeah. GT: Fabulous. And did you stay? Did you go back to Redditch? DA: Yes. MA: Yes. And what happened? I set up a small business. A little advertising agency which also painted shop signs and things. But there seemed very little in this to go on and when the government offered university and college trainees for ex-servicemen I applied for a five year grant to study at Birmingham College of Art. DA: And you were granted that. MA: Which I was granted. GT: Awesome. And you moved on and you said you took a job with a television company. DA: That was — GT: No. DA: You went, after the college you went to [ Burton?] College of Art to teach. MA: That’s right. DA: And we stayed there, what two or three years. MA: Yes. I began teaching at Burton. DA: Yes. MA: School of Art. For — DA: Two or three years. MA: A few years. DA: And then we went to Newcastle on Tyne to the Art College up there. But we only stayed there about a year or less and you — MA: Yeah. DA: We went down to London and you took a job with Granada Television which was just opening up. GT: Granada Television. Yes. I see you’ve got a lovely photograph here of all your crew. So, what shows did you work on? Was it television or was it movie? Or — DA: It was more that you did the graphic designs that came — MA: It’s in the book. GT: Yeah. Yeah. DA: You did the graphic designs that came up to the — MA: And the set designs. DA: And the set designs. GT: Yeah. DA: For the programmes. Yeah. GT: Yeah. I’m going to mention for the recording now that Maurice’s book is specifically autobiography, “There’s No Caviar for a Kingfisher,” by Maurice Askew. “A scrapbook of life in a Midlands town during the years from the 20s to the early 60s,” in the RAF and then the golden years of commercial television and Maurice has detailed everything of his Royal Air Force training, career, the operations and then his POW time in that. So that is wonderfully written Maurice and it’s a great piece that we can refer people who are interested to read there from there. So, after your time with Granada you did, you, you emigrated to New Zealand then. Was it 1963 Doris? Was that right? DA: Yes. Yes. MA: Yes. DA: That’s right. Yes. You saw it advertised, didn’t you? And you’d been in Granada a few years and you thought well this was another opportunity so you applied and they accepted us and arranged for us to fly out. Well, we didn’t fly. We came by boat, didn’t we? GT: Yeah. DA: We came out on the Gothic. Was it called the Gothic? MA: Gothic. DA: Yes. It had, the Queen had used that boat for one of her trips. MA: Wow. DA: And the company had taken it back over and they’d taken all the central heating and air cooling thing out and it was on the side of the quay and so we were very hot at times. GT: Right. That’s fascinating. So, you, and of course you had a family and — DA: Yes. We had the two children then. Sue was coming up to seven and Colin was three. And — GT: Fabulous. And your daughter Susan works here in Christchurch. DA: Yes. GT: And your son works still in England. DA: Yes. He has his own business. He was with Shell for many years but they moved back to Holland. He had just got married and they were buying a house and he didn’t want to go and to sell all up and go to Holland and his wife had a good job as well so they, he just resigned. GT: Fabulous. And you’ve stayed here in Christchurch and enjoyed— DA: Yeah. GT: Christchurch, New Zealand ever since. DA: Ever since. Yes. GT: Yeah. DA: We’ve been quite happy here. GT: Fabulous. And recently though, 2015 you’ve been made contact with a chap from Germany, Volker Urbansky who’s found your, the crash site of your aircraft. DA: Yes. GT: And that was something that was rather a surprise for you, I see. DA: It came out of the blue didn’t it, Maurice? MA: Yes. GT: So, you’ve had, Volker has been in contact with you quite a bit and he’s given you quite an array of information and the night you were shot down the Messerschmitt 110 pilot who shot you down was Rudolph Franck and I’m looking at a Wikipedia example of Rudolph Franck’s history and he shot down forty two or had forty two aerial victories over allied aircraft. He too was then shot down and killed later in a collision with another Lancaster. But Volker here has managed to find the impact point of where your Lancaster crashed and went in to the snow and the ice. Have you had quite a bit of contact with him, Maurice? DA: We did at first. When he first found it. MA: I don’t like it. The way this is going. GT: Understood. Okay. MA: Stop it. GT: Well, Maurice — MA: I like to write things down so that, you know I can alter it as I go. GT: Sure. MA: And — GT: Yeah. MA: This quick thinking has gone these days I’m afraid. GT: Well, Maurice — MA: Can we do it some other way? GT: Well, certainly, well look I think Maurice — MA: Sorry. GT: We’ve got enough material and it’s been fascinating meeting you today Maurice and thank you very much for letting me chat with you and Doris and I certainly appreciate the sacrifice you guys made for us and thank you very much for letting me interview you for the International Bomber Command Centre. You have an amazing amount of history here of your time and I certainly do thank you for that and thank you for letting me talk with you. So, thank you. We can finish the interview now. MA: Alright. Thank you. GT: But is there anything you would like to say to the IBCC and, of your time or are you pretty happy to leave it at that? MA: Not really, am I? I’ve made a mess of that. GT: No. You did fine Maurice and I certainly thank you. DA: It’s getting, you’re getting tired now. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Maurice Vivian Askew Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Glen Turner Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018-01-15 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AAskewMV180115, PAskewMV1801 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 00:22:06 audio recording Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Maurice Askew volunteered for the RAF and began training as a flight engineer. He was posted to 207 Squadron at RAF Spilsby and his first operation was to Berlin. On his last operation his aircraft came under attack. He was knocked unconscious as he baled out of the aircraft and regained consciousness just before he landed on snow, which he first thought was the sea because of the appearance of waves. After a varied post-war career, Maurice became a set designer for Granada television before emigrating to New Zealand. His memoirs were published under the title, “No Caviar for a Kingfisher.” Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 1943 1944-02-19 1944-02-20 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Germany Great Britain England--Lincolnshire Germany--Berlin Germany--Leipzig Wales--Glamorgan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Julie Williams Carolyn Emery Maureen Clarke 207 Squadron aircrew bale out flight engineer Lancaster Finishing School Me 110 prisoner of war RAF Spilsby RAF St Athan RAF Syerston shot down https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/755/10753/ACourtPR171211.1.mp3 f5adb26711d51c0b4874459a61b47524 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Court, Percival Robert P R Court Description An account of the resource An oral history interview with Robert Court (b. 1924, 1728924 Royal Air Force). He served as a rigger and airframe fitter. The collection was catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-12-11 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Court, PR Transcribed audio recording A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document CB: My name is Chris Brockbank and today is the, Monday the 11th of December 2017 and I am in Reading with Bob Court to talk about his life and times and starting with what are your earliest recollections of life, Bob? PC: I don’t know. Being [pause] at a place called Organford where there were floods. My mother was sat with her feet in the water and nursing me. Then the old chap was going off to work and he left his Hunter watch on the bed head so I could hear it ticking. That’s my earliest memory. CB: What did your father do? PC: He was a post office engineer. Linesman. CB: Whereabouts? PC: Dorset. CB: And what did that involve? PC: Well, in those days the, during the winter months the snow would bring the lines down and they had to go and put them back up. So it meant travelling about all over the place. CB: Right. And where did you go to school? PC: Poole. National school. National Boy School, Poole. CB: Any exciting times there? PC: Oh yeah. I thought they were all exciting [laughs] Yeah. It was ok. I managed to keep to the top of the heap all the time so life was pretty, pretty easy. CB: Did you develop a main interest? PC: Woodwork, I suppose. I don’t know. My mother wouldn’t let me go to the Grammar School. They wanted me to go and take the exam. But my mother wouldn’t let me go. CB: Why was that? PC: Probably she couldn’t afford it. But in, in retrospect I say she probably saved my life. CB: Because? PC: If you’d have gone to the Grammar School you’d have been aircrew. CB: Right. PC: Not many of them survived. CB: Right. Right. And what age did you leave school? PC: Fourteen. CB: Then what? PC: Then what? Well, I worked for this furniture company. And then when I was old enough volunteered for the Air Force. CB: Yeah. But first of all what did you do? PC: What do you mean what did I do? CB: Well, immediately after you left school what did you do? Before you went to the furniture company. PC: I worked for a friend of a member of the family who had a radio business. And I suppose, I don’t know when I turned up, when they packed up. And I went to the Labour Exchange because I had a suit on I suppose they thought here’s a chap for the shop, for this furniture store. CB: So what did you do in the furniture business? PC: Well, repairing, French polishing. All sorts of things really. Selling it. Delivering it. CB: You said you were interested in carpentry at school. So did that put you in good stead for what you were doing for the furniture company? PC: I suppose it did in a way. Yes. I suppose it did. CB: So were you an apprentice there or — PC: Yeah. CB: Right. And how long were apprenticeships in those days? PC: This one was three years I think it was. Yeah. Three years, I think. Three years, I think. Three or four years. CB: So, you were born in 1924. PC: Yeah. CB: And that meant that when the war started what age were you? PC: Fifteen. CB: And what reaction did you feel with the start of the war? PC: Pretty good [laughs] I didn’t think we were going to lose. Never entered my head that we might lose. I didn’t realise how close it was but at the time no you wouldn’t. Never thought of it. CB: So, this is when you’re working for the furniture company. PC: Yeah. CB: What did you do that was related to the war at that stage because you were too young to sign up. PC: I did a bit of firewatching. We had to do that every night. Well, not one night a week at least. Then they started introducing payment so I did two nights. Sometimes three. It wasn’t very onerous. CB: What did you have to do? PC: Well, just keep a watch out for incendiary bombs because they were using a lot of those at the time. And put out any fires they might cause. Fortunately, in my area they didn’t cause any. So I was alright. Not bad at all. CB: So what did they, what title did you have for that task? Fire watching. Was that ARP or what was it? PC: No. It wasn’t ARP. Just fire watchers or something. CB: Right. PC: I don’t know. Who was it introduced it? [pause] I think it was Morrison, wasn’t it? Morrison. CB: Herbert Morrison [pause] But what did you actually have to do in fire watching? PC: Well, keep, keep an, keep your eyes open for any incendiaries that might land near you. CB: I was thinking did you have a base to work from or did you walk the streets or what did you do? PC: No. We had a room over a shop that we used to sleep in. And any air raids we’d go out and wander around the streets. CB: Right. And you had a supervisor or who controlled what you were doing? PC: Yeah. We had a chap who owned one of the shops. Well, he owned a chemist shop and he was the chap in charge. Yeah. CB: So what did you find in there? PC: Hmmn? CB: You’re looking in your book. What have you got in there? PC: Oh, I’m just trying to remember what was going on. The Dunkirk business. CB: Well, we can come back. Let’s talk about Dunkirk then. So you remember Dunkirk in 1940. PC: Yeah. CB: What do you remember particularly about that? PC: Well, when was it? CB: Because you’re in Weymouth. PC: Germany attacked Poland. No. I was in Poole then. CB: Oh, in Poole were you? PC: The Phoney War. Holland. The occupation of Denmark and Norway. The evacuation of Dunkirk. I remember watching soldiers coming in to Poole Quay on any craft that could make the journey. CB: Right. When they landed then what happened to them? PC: Tea, cigarettes, beer and food being given to the bemused troops. Pitiful to see them. Did not appreciate — CB: What sort of state were they in? PC: Not very happy. Glad to be out of where they were though. CB: Were they upright, bedraggled or what were they? PC: Well, they were a bit bedraggled but apart from that they were ok. Glad to be out of there. That was all. CB: Yes. PC: Yeah. CB: So after that you continued with your fire watching. PC: Yes. CB: Did you join the ATC or — PC: Yeah. Yeah. I joined the Air Training Corps. CB: Right. And when was that? That was when you were what age? Was it at the time of fire watching? PC: Yeah. Obviously [pause] when were the ATC formed? When was that? [pause] PC: Yeah. Herbert Morrison was the one who said all persons between sixteen and sixty register for fire watching duties. CB: Right. PC: So, I, they used to pay four and sixpence. Twenty two and a half pence per night. I didn’t earn much so I volunteered to do two and sometimes three nights a week. CB: Yeah. PC: Which helped my salary immensely. CB: Can you remember what you earned when you were working for the furniture company? PC: Yeah. Twelve [pause] twelve and sixpence. CB: Did you? PC: Or sixty two and a half pence. CB: Yeah. PC: Per week. The Air Training Corps was in 1941. And I joined in March 1941. CB: The ATC. PC: Yeah. CB: Yeah. So, now you’re coming up to be old enough to join the forces. What made you join the RAF rather than the Army or the Navy? PC: As I said, I couldn’t swim. And I didn’t like the brown jobs. They got too close. So, I thought the Air Force might be a bit safer. CB: Right. PC: Which it proved to be. CB: So, what, what was the process then of joining up? PC: I went to [pause] where did I go? I went up to Southampton I think. Volunteered. CB: Did you go to Cardington as a start? PC: Yeah. CB: What happened at Cardington? PC: I went to [pause] joined [pause — pages turning] Yeah. Cardington. Somewhere. I volunteered. It was possible to volunteer at seventeen and a half. CB: Yeah. PC: I did that in February ‘42. Volunteered for service as a flight mechanic. CB: Right. PC: Report to the centre of Southampton for a medical and attestation. Bear true allegiance to His Majesty King George the Sixth, his heirs and successors blah blah blah. Got the King’s Shilling in the form of a postal order. CB: Oh, you did. Right. PC: I was hoping to be given a shilling but they didn’t. They give me a bloody postal order. I should have saved it but I didn’t. So, I went to, and I was with the ATC at their Fleet Air Arm place at Sandbanks and I had to report to Cardington. CB: Right. PC: Yeah. Never been outside the county ‘til then. CB: So, what did you do at Cardington? PC: Got kitted out. Did some tests. We had to fill out, yeah fill out all these books. Tests. I was about to decide what we would do. Test booklets. Fill in name and number. Answer all the questions you could. Such things as mathematics, simple science, English diagrams to determine which way cogs might revolve around levers and pulleys operated. Seemed to go on for hours and days by the end of it. Afterwards when discussing with others how they thought they had fared I began to realise that not all of us were as well equipped as others. In fact, the lad I travelled with from Poole had found the exercise very daunting. Then we were interviewed by, about technical matters school, blah blah blah. Issued with uniforms and equipment. Everything. Dog tags and whatever. When all this was going on the, an airman came and called out your name. Gather up your kit and follow him. My friend from Poole was amongst us. ‘Where are you going?’ I asked. ‘I’ve been selected for the RAF regiment.’ Soon our numbers were quite depleted. We slept soundly that night. CB: So, are you saying not everybody was accepted in to the RAF? PC: They were accepted into the RAF but not in what they wanted to do. CB: Right. PC: Like this chap that came with me was put in the RAF regiment. CB: Yes. So, what other jobs would they have put them into? PC: Well, there was cooks. CB: Yeah. PC: All sorts of things I think. Different. Different. I’m trying to think really. CB: But you’d been identified as somebody to work, you said earlier as a rigger. PC: Yeah. CB: Is that because you asked for that or they suggested that’s what you should do? PC: Well, no. What happens, you were sort of all lined up and said, I would say about sixty or so of us and those who wished to be air frame mechanics to cross to the other side of the room. Not a soul moved. Didn’t know what he was bloody talking about. CB: No. PC: ‘Right,’ he said, said to the group, he said, ‘All those on the left engines. Those on the right airframe.’ That’s how I became a flight mechanic air frame. CB: Right. PC: That’s it. CB: Was this chap a corporal or — PC: It was better actually than the engines. I thought so anyway. And we went from Cardington to Skegness for square bashing. CB: What else did you do at Skegness? PC: Just the initial training. Marching up and down. CB: Yeah. PC: Cracking the paving stones. CB: Yeah. PC: Then we were — CB: Was there any classroom work? It wasn’t square bashing all the time was it? PC: Square. Well, most of the times. Yeah. CB: And from there? PC: Didn’t have any rifles so we had wooden replica rifles. Bayonet practice with pikes. Scaffold tubing with the bayonets welded on. Bayonet practice we charged at straw filled sacks on wooden frames and around again. We were encouraged to scream and shout the meanest of obscenities as we charged forward. Urged on by the instructors. In, out, Oh God, out the ground, left, right, right, oh dear. Oh dear. Unarmed combat was taught. Be invited to charge the instructor with a rifle and bayonet, and we’d be tipped ass over head in no uncertain manner. How we would fare in real combat was never really put to the test. The assault courses, climb wire, barbed wire, rope netting. Crossing streams and, oh dear. Did guard duty. We’d sit on the seafront with a machine gun on the beach. Wend our way through the mines laid on the beach, ropes and tape. The odd mine was clearly visible in the sand so one was apprehensive when going backwards and forwards. The Butlins Holiday Camp was used by the Navy as a training establishment. Given the name HMS Arthur. The camp was full of Naval though we never seen any in the town. They must have kept them away. Perhaps the authorities in their infinite wisdom kept us apart. Many lectures on various aspects of service life. We had medical officer of the dangers of venereal diseases. This was my first introduction to sex education. For me it was a rude awakening. The MO marched on the stage in the lecture room and held up an unrolled French letter which he announced was a condom. In my ignorance I only knew it as the more familiar name. They were sold sureptisously in barber’s shops where male customers would be discreetly asked if they needed such things for the weekend. He ran to great length about syphilis, gonorrhoea, associated with women of a dubious character. If we did succumb to these wiles we’d be marching with a standing penis and no conscience. Returned to a room behind the guard room where prophylactic treatment was available. This lecture was reinforced by an American film of soldiers frequenting a brothel and the resulting liaison in full colour. Various venereal diseases in all its ghastly forms. Pretty shocking to my young senses. What kept most men on the straight and narrow was the exception that women were to be respected. The ultimate way was that the man would marry a virgin and young women accordingly kept themselves chaste. At home sex was never discussed. It was taboo. But nevertheless there were plenty of innuendoes bandied about between Babe, Benny and some of the lodgers. I was a little naive to appreciate what was going on. Films and books were played down as part of any stories so as not to offend the sensors. Songs adhered to a strict code of practice. Some comedians like Max Miller sailed pretty close to the wind. A popular song of the day was, “Doing What Comes Naturally.” And that was how people were introduced to sex. To suppress our sexual drive a cup of tea or cocoa we drank was laced with copious amounts of Bromide. Also we were kept so busy with square bashing and PT at the end of the day we were too exhausted for such dalliances. That coupled with our meagre pay did not leave us much for entertaining the opposite sex. As the course progressed so did our fitness. Jack London was training for his fight would delight in picking out likely lads to spar with him in the boxing ring. Fortunately, for me being I was slight build I was not selected for this ordeal. We could not avoid the forced marches that were his pet items. Be paraded in marching order with small pack. Gas mask we had to march at a fast pace for about ten miles or so. Periodically we’d be halted for a short rest but Jack would prance about shadow boxing while we looked on in awe. And off we’d go again at almost a gallop. After six weeks or so of this intensive square bashing we were deemed to be sufficiently proficient in parade ground techniques and arms drill, armed and unarmed bayonet, to be referred to the next place of our training. Come of some use in the overall strategy of the Air Force. And then off we went. Went to — CB: Where did you go next? PC: Went to a place called Brindley Heath near Birmingham. Just outside Birmingham. And we marched up to the camp known as Kit Bag Hill surrounded by an eight to ten foot high wire chain link. This was number school, number 6 School of Technical Training. It would be our home for the next five or six months. So that’s where I went. CB: So, at the Technical School this was specifically was it for the trade you were put into? PC: Yeah. Yeah. Number 6 School of Technical Training. CB: Yeah. PC: Very desolate. Looked rather gloomy after Skegness. I was accommodated in one of many of the wooden huts. In the centre was a coal burning stove. Iron beds that telescoped to give a spacious look to the room. On each bed was three square shaped mattresses called biscuits. Pillow. Three blankets all arranged in a precise manner which we would get accustomed to making before going on parade in the mornings. A corporal was in charge of the hut and the weekly inspections of the hut ensured was spotless before he allowed us to go to breakfast. Woe betide anyone who entered the hut after he’d pronounced it satisfactory. Not only were the trainees RAF personnel but there were the Fleet Air Arm, Polish and WAAFs which added a degree of rivalry to us all. Each morning we’d parade outside the hut at 7.30 am. Headed by the station band we would march to the workshop to the strains of, “Sussex by the Sea.” We would mutter as we marched along in the darkness, “Good old Sussex by the sea. You can tell them all we know sod all of Sussex by the sea.” How’s that? [laughs] CB: We’ll pause there for a mo. [recording paused] CB: So, the RAF called this site you’re talking about RAF Hednesford. PC: Yeah. CB: What did you actually do there? PC: That was the — CB: Brindley Heath. PC: Yeah. First two weeks dealt with basic engineering practice. I did on occasion metal, metals used in aircraft production. Types of drills, screws, tools, heat treatment, corrosion. Main practical work involved filing a piece of mild steel about three or four inches square, a quarter of an inch thick. Dead flat and square. Both faces and all surfaces. At the end marks were attained in the practical theory and oral examination we continued with the course. Otherwise we were re-mustered into probably the RAF regiment. Perish the thought. Anyone with ninety percent could go on to the fitter’s course. Those with marks forty or less would be re-mustered. Only one of our entry was. Which was a hundred and fifty eight passed with high enough marks and one failed. And he had the, as he had had office experience in Civvy Street he was posted to the admin section as a Clerk GD. We were rather derisory towards him but he had the last laugh because by the time we had completed the course he had been promoted to corporal. So he did well. None of us were concerned about going on the fitter’s course which meant another ten weeks of training and many were anxious to join a squadron and actually service aircraft. Once the basic training was over we got down to the serious business of the flight mechanic’s course. Sixteen weeks of instruction, preliminary rigging, knots, lacing of wire and rope. Fabrication, application, doping and painting, carpentry, hydraulics, pneumatic, wheels and tyre maintenance, marshalling of aircraft. Procedures for the daily inspection. At first I’d been disappointed in not being successful in being selected as an engine mechanic but once on the course I found it so varied and covered such a variety of activities I was glad. Later in life it stood me in good stead. Once we were, similar routine with our spare time spent in the NAAFI. Occasional visits to the camp cinema. One film I recall was the story of that guy who sold his soul to the devil. Was it a warning? Also got initiated in playing cards. Not Whist, Rummy and Cribbage that I was reasonable in but Brag, Pontoon and Solo. We did not have a lot of money to indulge in these games and after being relieved of my meagre pay by the card sharks among us I became more cautious about getting too involved. The only game officially sanctioned by the powers that be was Tombola or Housey Housey. Less stressful and you were unlikely to lose too much of your money. Weekends we’d venture in to town with Walsall being one of the favourite places. Many thought I came from Canada. Due to my West Country accent no doubt. So I would say I came from London, Ontario. I was intrigued by the accents of these Black Country people as they were known here. Hednesford itself was a mining village. We’d often visit the snooker hall and local pub. The younger miners a little hostile to us as many would have liked to have joined the Services from what was a Reserved Occupation from which there was no escape. Hence their frustrations. Shall I go on? CB: Yeah. PC: My best friend, Bob Matthews, a Londoner and I was a bit in awe of him because he was very streetwise while I was just a country boy who knew nothing of the big wide world. As I lived in Poole it was much too far for me to go home on a forty eight hour pass and I stayed with him with his parents in London. Fabulous. They lived in Woolwich and his father was security officer at the Royal Arsenal. They had a small cottage inside the Arsenal as part of the job. You would say that this was the safest place in London. Bob had a regular girlfriend. Sylvia, I believe. And he introduced me to her sister Vera. This made a convenient foursome for us. Also, Vera was my first really serious girl. We used to write copious letters to each other even when I was posted overseas. However, when I was abroad for a long separation of course there was a cool off a bit and she met up with another lad. When I came home in 1947 we did try to get together but I was very unsettled and did not know what I wanted to do so we drifted apart. Compared with Poole, Woolwich and London in general was a wonderland to me [pause] Pubs such as Dirty Dick’s were so different from those in Poole. We would meet Bob’s mother in one and she would proudly show off her pride and joy to her friends. Christmas I spent at the camp not wishing to go home as I wanted to enjoy service life to the full. I withdrew my name from the list of those wishing to go home to allow the married ones a better chance of selection. Periodically we used to do guard duty. This involved being on duty from 6pm until 8am the next day. One did stints of two hours on and four hours off and we usually slept in the guard room cells. Some did duty on the main gate and others patrolled the perimeter fence. The shifts 12 to 2am and 2 to 4am were in my opinion the worst. I remember on one occasion falling asleep in the sentry box and nearly falling over as I slept. God knows what would have happened if the orderly officer had come around. Tell that the circulated camp was that Naval Fleet Air Arm types who assisted their mates to enter the camp after the magic hour of 23.59 by fixing their bayonets to the rifles. Pushing them through the chain link fence to form a sort of ladder. Coming up this way one of the bayonets snapped off. What was the outcome I never did know or whether it was true. Completion of the course in February ’43 we attended a passing our parade, informed of our postings, given a travel warrant and sent home on a weeks’ well-earned leave. We had previously been asked where we’d like to be posted and I opted for Ibsley near Ringwood. A Spitfire fighter station. Whether they did this deliberately to post you as far from the location desired I don’t know but I was posted to 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit, Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire. CB: Right. We’ll stop this for a mo. [recording paused] CB: You mentioned the passing out parade from the end of your training. So how did that go? PC: Well, the square bashing do you mean? After doing the foot drill. CB: Yeah. PC: Yeah. What did that involve? CB: Yeah. When you’d finished your technical training you had your passing out parade. PC: Technical training. CB: Yeah. Before you were posted elsewhere. So what, what was the passing out parade? PC: I can’t remember really. I think we just had to march past the CO and eyes right and off you go. CB: Yes. And did they give you something in terms of certificate. Or — PC: No. No. CB: Families invited or anything like that? PC: No. No. No. No. CB: Right. And did you get a bean feast afterwards? PC: A bean feast? CB: A pub. Food. PC: No. No. You were sent home on leave. CB: Right. That was the reward [laughs] PC: Yeah. Yeah. CB: Yeah. PC: Yeah. CB: Ok. [recording paused] CB: So when you joined the RAF you were an AC2. How did the promotion go from there? PC: Well, the next stage was AC1. And then LAC. Leading Aircraftmen. I think nowadays they follow the Army and they call them corporals. CB: Well, I think they’ve still got LAC and SAC. PC: Yeah. Have they? CB: Senior Aircraftsman. So at what stage were you, did you become a Leading Aircraftsman? At the end of your technical training was it? PC: After I’d been on the Heavy Conversion Unit for a bit. CB: When you got on with it. Right. Ok. So you were posted to the Heavy Conversion Unit. That was at Waterbeach. So, what was your role there? PC: Just — CB: Because you are now technically what’s your description of your trade at that stage? PC: I’m a flight mechanic. CB: Right. PC: Flight mechanic air frame. Yeah. Arrived at the camp at about [pause] it was quite dark. Reported to the guard room. Soon allocated a billet. Guided to the dining for a much needed meal. Quite bewildered. At the same time thrilled to hear the roar of aircraft engines as the planes were taking off from the airfield. CB: What were the aircraft? PC: Stirlings. CB: Right. PC: The airfield was about four miles from Cambridge. Only built during the general rearmament programme of the late 1930s. Officially opened in 1941. Earmarked to be a heavy bomber station. When I arrived it was equipped with the Short Stirling four engine bomber. I was a little disappointed to find that the unit was not on operational one but involved with the final training of aircrews before going on to an operational squadron. Stirlings were given this role because the Lancaster and Halifax heavy bombers coming on stream were far superior in Bomber Command in bomb carrying capacity and ability to fly at high altitudes. Stirlings had been designed in 1936 but its projected wing span of a hundred and twelve feet had to be reduced to less than a hundred to be accommodated in the hangars. This would seriously affect its ability to fly any higher than about eighteen thousand feet and was therefore more vulnerable to anti-aircraft and fighter attack. Its robust construction based on the Sunderland ensured that it would withstand serious battle damage. It was used successfully as the main bomber along with the Wellington. But as night fighter operations improved these losses were unsustainable. Stirlings last big operational roles was when it was used as a paratroop carrier. And the towing of gliders during D-Day and at Arnhem. It was at Arnhem that my brother Jim was captured and spent the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp. My first day on the flights when I was introduced to these huge monsters towering above me left me a little awestruck by its sheer size. This was certainly a big aeroplane standing about twenty feet high. Twenty eight feet high on its huge ungainly undercarriage. My job as a flight mechanic was to carry out daily inspections. Checking the tyres, tyre creep, leaks from the oleo struts, free working of the ailerons, rudders and elevators and inspect for damage generally. Checking the cockpit. The operational controls. The most frightening task for me was the cleaning of the cockpit windscreen and windows. This necessitated climbing out of an escape hatch midway along the fuselage, walking along to the cockpit and then lying down to clean the Perspex windows. At first I would crawl on my hands and knees up the fuselage much to the amusement of the old hands. After a few days I became as blasé about it as they were and would quickly clamber along the fuselage ignoring the height above the ground. Refuelling held its dangers too. The training of pilot and co-pilot to successfully take off and land at night and to get the rest of the crew to operate as an efficient unit. Night flying was the norm for this work and on its completion usually about two or three in the morning one of the jobs was to refuel the aircraft so that it was ready for immediate take off. The Stirling had fourteen tanks in the wings holding over two thousand two hundred gallons of fuel. On a cold winter’s night this was a gruelling task. To hold open the nozzle to allow the petrol to flow in to the tanks hands and fingers soon became numb with cold. Accentuated by the high octane fuel. I’d not been there long when my turn for night flying duties. This meant being, among other things being on standby on the flight hut to answer requests from the pilot for a supply of compressed air. In night flying operation the aircraft would be doing circuits and bumps continued throughout the night. The small engine driven pumps which fitted to the aircraft could not maintain enough compressed air in the [floor cylinder] to cope with the continual application of the aircraft air brakes. After a number of landings and take off a cylinder would need replenishing. My job was to meet the aircraft on the perimeter, top up as necessary. Rather than wait in the cold flight for a call out many of us would join the aircrews with a fully charged air cylinder and enjoy the thrills of night flying. Sans parachute I might add. When the top up cylinder was empty we would leave the aircraft. Turn to the flight and have to wait for the next call. At the end of the night flying the next task would be to meet the aircraft on the perimeter. Guide it to its dispersal point on the flight. On my first occasion the duty corporal took pity on me and told me he would delay my introduction to this task as long as possible. Whether he doubted my competence I know not. There was suddenly a flurry of activity and with the phone ringing continuously, airmen gathering up torches and disappearing into the night I found I was the only one apart from the corporal left in the hut. The phone rang and he reluctantly handed me two small torches and told me to guide G-George to its dispersal point with some brief warnings of the possible dangers. Out I ventured in the total darkness to meet this huge monster towering above me on the perimeter track. Along with my two torches waving them in the prescribed manner I gradually brought the aircraft with its roaring engines and red hot exhaust to its dispersal point. Now came the tricky bit where it was necessary to turn the aircraft in a complete circle on the frying pan to be ready for refuelling. One had to be careful to keep in full view of the pilot. Not to stumble or trip otherwise one might be run over by the tail wheels as the aircraft turned around in the tight space. With heart thumping and nerves frayed I managed this without a mishap. I’ve often wondered if the pilot ever thought how vulnerable the poor ground crews were when carrying out this type, this operation. Back in the flight hut I don’t know to this day who was more relieved. Me or the corporal. Periodically, as well as doing a guard duty on the main gate on the perimeter of the station we also had to do a kite guard. Kite being slang for an aeroplane. For this duty one would have a couple of blankets, go to a designated aircraft and spend a night guarding the aircraft. I cannot recall whether we were armed or not or how effective the guard was is debatable. Whenever I did this duty I would spend the time exploring the aircraft, playing the various roles of bomber crews. I imagined I would assume the duty of the pilot, co-pilot, flying over Germany and the North Sea to the target. When tiring of this I would then take on the role of the bomb aimer. Lie down in his position in the front at the front and guide the plane and drop the bombs. Other roles would be front, rear and mid-upper gunners. Sitting in their turrets and shooting down enemy fighters. Although I fantasised playing these roles I never felt I would be suitable as an aircraft member. Aircrew member. Partly as I did not consider my education, background good enough at the time. Aircrews were recruited from the universities and Grammar Schools and my basic elementary schooling was not good enough. As war progressed and a shortage of suitable candidates became apparent particularly for the flight engineers. I would probably have been acceptable. By this time I’d retrained as a fitter and was quite happy in that role. For sleeping there was a foldaway stretcher located in the fuselage but sleep was an uncomfortable experience, climbs in the aircraft on a cold winter’s night. And equally so on a hot summer’s night. At 6am in the morning loud banging on this aircraft would awaken one and you would stagger off to the dining hall for a cup of tea and an early breakfast. But the ordinary perk was the cooks were generally sympathetic and generous at that hour. I had not been at Waterbeach long when it came apparent getting around a camp site, a bicycle was required so I wrote home and asked my mother to send my bicycle to me. She did. Registered. And I was mobile. A cycle was as essential in those days as a car is today. Visits to Cambridge and the local villages was easily accomplished with the minimum of effort. This being the fen country it was very flat. Very few hills to negotiate. This part of the country was ideal for the location of bomber stations so that although heavy laden to take off safely. Cambridge was a beautiful city with its many fine buildings, colleges and the River Cam running through it and I spent much of my free time exploring its many features. Cambridge being a university with its teaming population of undergraduates I found it difficult in coming to terms with. I was brought up to the idea that one had to get out to work and earn a living as soon as possible. My mother did not encourage one in the value of education. In fact, by her intransigence she discouraged me from taking the entrance to the local Grammar School. At the time, 1943 Cambridge was full of American servicemen and I’m afraid us poor erks could not compete either financially for the favours of the local girls. We had to be content with the NAAFI, Toc H, Sally Ann, for entertainment. Plus the cinemas. I remember there was some trouble when some time expired servicemen returned from their tour of duty in North Africa and many confrontations occurred between the two factions. I found it more expedient to stick to the village and Waterbeach itself than get involved in any trouble. My father died in November ’43. Flight Sergeant Mills took me under his wing and helped me through the trauma and he often took me to the British Legion club in the village where he was a much respected and popular friend. As spring arrived the hours of daylight increased. The trainee aircrews were required to wear goggles with dark lenses in order that flying hours were maintained. The runways were illuminated with sodium lights to complete the illusion of night flying. This almost around the clock flying put quite a strain on the servicing ground crews. But with the increasing aircraft production losses of aircrews by enemy action it was necessary to maintain a flow. One day while working on the flights [unclear] came and said anyone would like to retrain as a fitter 2. This was an upgraded group 1 in trade structure in the RAF was highly regarded as it opened up the route to promotion. I asked when mine would be likely to be selected, know if to be selected and how that might be. He told me it would be several months before it would come about. Thinking to myself it would get me off the flights for the winter months I put my name forward. Rather than months, a couple of weeks later given a weeks’ leave and told to report to Number 1 School Of Technical Training at Halton to begin a fitter’s conversion course [pause] on the 2nd of July 1943. Number 1 School of Technical Training, RAF Station Halton. Halton was the home of the boy entrants in the RAF and affectionately known as Trenchard’s Brats. The terms of service was to fulfil twelve years of service from the age of eighteen when the option to sign on for a period if they so desired. The apprenticeship was four to five years duration and they seemed to be the cream of the tradesmen and indeed they were. The war was a Godsend to that force with the rapid expansion of the Air Force. Many were promoted to high ranking position both as officers and senior NCOs. So they did well. Volunteers and conscripts like myself after completing a flight mechanic’s course the period on the squadron required to do a conversion course of fourteen weeks to be brought up to the required standard. I think I was the youngest and certainly the lowest in rank at AC2, Aircraftman Second Class. Many were LACs, Leading Aircraftsmen with several years service to their credit. RAF Halton near Wendover in Buckinghamshire was situated uphill from the town. Every day we would form up on the square, march to the training workshops. The Brats would lead the parade with the mascot of a goat, a goat and the station band at the head. The Brats were distinguished by wearing cheese cutters. Peak cap, with a chequered brim on the edge whilst we wore the Glengarry type of head gear. One of our entry also wore a cheese cutter as he had had the devil’s own job to convince the RAF police that he was not a Brat. One night on the town he had been an aircrew member and lost all his hair as result of some trauma and had permission to wear the cap to avoid embarrassment. The course, like the flight mechanic’s was fairly intensive dealing with basic engineering, metal repairs, hydraulics, minor and major inspections. A lot of instruction involved American aircraft such as the Kitty Hawk, Tomahawk and the methods used in the servicing of these aircraft. Weekends we could not obtain a pass we were expected to take part in some sporting activity. The skivers among us would often choose the cross country run over the hills and through the woods down to Tring. At some convenient spot we would hide, enjoy a crafty smoke and wait for the main pack and rejoin them for the return to the camp. Those who declined to take part in any of these activities would find themselves detailed for spud bashing which involved the peeling and removing the eyes from the potatoes. Halton was conveniently placed near London. And weekends we could spend in the city. We used to stay in the YMCA hospital, hostel at Westminster. Therefore we’d be taken by bus to a section of the underground not used by the railway. Here three tiered bunks were provided at a shilling. 5p per night. You took pot luck as to who your fellow borders might be and hoped they would not be too drunk or awkward. Other times when I stayed in camp I would explore the local towns of Aylesbury, Rickmansworth, Tring etcetera. During wartime these were pretty boring places to be for a serviceman as with beer in short supply unless you were a regular you could not hope to get served in any pub. Whilst at Halton the forty third intake of Brats came to the end of their course. We were all given a forty eight pass and told to leave the camp or stay at our peril. When we returned to the camp we’d seen why we had been told to get out. The place was in a shambles. Beds and mattresses hanging from windows, forty free entry signs daubed on walls and general mayhem everywhere. Apparently it was a tradition that on the completion of a course the Brats were given a free hand to celebrate their final days at Halton. The new entry would have the job of cleaning up the ensuing mess. Which gave them the incentive that they could do better when they completed their course. However, when we finished the privilege [pause] however when we finished the privilege was not granted to us. I completed the conversion course and now fitter 2A still with the rank of AC2. This gave me an increase in pay and I was now in group one of the trade hierarchy of the Air Force. Sent home and then posted back to 1651 at Waterbeach. Other: A rest. CB: I think we’d better stop there. Thank you very much. [recording paused] CB: We’re taking a pause now because Bob’s getting a bit tired. We’ve got to the stage where he’s returned to Stradishall and there’s a lot more to be covered in the later part of the war and afterwards in the Far East. So we’re going to reconvene. Much of what he’s been speaking about he’s got directly from his own book, “Stirlings, Sentinels and Dakotas.” So, more later. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Percival Robert Court Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Chris Brockbank Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-12-11 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ACourtPR171211 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 00:57:38 audio recording Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force British Army Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Bedfordshire England--Cambridgeshire England--Buckinghamshire England--Staffordshire England--Lincolnshire England--Skegness England--London Netherlands Netherlands--Arnhem Description An account of the resource Percival Robert Court joined the Air Training Corps in March 1941, volunteering for the Royal Air Force at the earliest age of 17 and a half. Training at RAF Cardington, he became a flight mechanic. He then moved to RAF Skegness to continue formal training, including lectures on sex education and venereal disease. He states that sex was never discussed and that it was taboo and recalls rumours they were putting bromide in the water. Alongside this, he outlines several examples of social meetings within the base staff, including shared songs and daily prayers at RAF Hednesford, including the support of his wing commander when his father died in 1943 and how he helped him through the tough ordeal. He then recounts his training and experiences at RAF Hednesford, explaining the very high marks that were required to continue on his mechanic course, alongside having to take regular guard shifts and night operations. Percival was posted to Heavy Conversion Unit 1651 at RAF Waterbeach, and describes his daily required workings and several experiences with Stirlings and Lancasters. He also sets aside time to remember his brother, who was captured at Arnhem, being imprisoned for the remainder of the war. Based at RAF Halton, Percival took a course that allowed him to be promoted, with the addition of&nbsp;higher pay, learning information about American aircraft and spending his weekends in wartime London. When the war came to an end, he was given 48 hours to leave the base and no celebration. Percival Robert Court believes his mother saved his life by not letting him go to a grammar school, explaining that if she had, he would have died in an aircrew. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Sam Harper-Coulson Julie Williams Maureen Clarke Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 1943 Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending revision of OH transcription 1651 HCU civil defence dispersal faith fitter airframe flight mechanic ground crew ground personnel Heavy Conversion Unit Lancaster mechanics airframe perimeter track prisoner of war RAF Cardington RAF Halton RAF Hednesford RAF Waterbeach Stirling training https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1639/26096/PSaundersRA-HE17030031.1.jpg 9e2b1194cd5286233cfc5478e9e3d441 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Saunders, Roy and Honor. Foreshaw family Description An account of the resource 25 family photographs Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-10-03 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Saunders, R-H Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jill Carter Description An account of the resource A full length studio portrait of Jill. Information supplied with the collection sates the photograph was taken on March 1941 when Jill was 4 years and 5 months old. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One b/w photograph Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PSaundersRA-HE17030031 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Civilian Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 childhood in wartime https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/53/508/EBoldyDABoldyAD410316.1.pdf b48a653075856ab0eef3afa60b190d19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Boldy, David Dave Boldy D A Boldy Description An account of the resource 334 items. The collection concerns Flight Sergeant David Adrian Boldy (1918 – 1942, 923995 Royal Air Force) and consists of his school reports, letters from school and photographs of family and locations in India, letters from training and service, and photographs from his social life and time training. It also includes newspaper cuttings and letters about him being missing in action. David Boldy was born and attended school in India and studied law at Kings College London. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force and trained as an air gunner in South Africa. He flew operations in Manchesters and Lancasters with 207 Squadron from RAF Bottesford. His aircraft failed to return from an operation to Gdańsk 11 July 1942. <br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by David Boldy and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.<br /><br />Additional information on David Boldy is available via the <a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/102182/">IBCC Losses Database</a>. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Boldy, DA Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document 923995 D. A. BOLDY. R.A.F., U/T Air Gunner, No 41 Air School, East London, 16th March, 1941. My darling Dad, Sorry for not having posted the letter enclosed with this one earlier but I just didn’t have any money. We have lived on practically nothing for weeks but managed pretty well. We shall now get regular pay - £1 1s per week till the end of the course. Quite a lot of things have happened since I last wrote. We were at Port Elizabeth for a fortnight & we then came to East London as you will have seen from the address. After we had been at P.E. for a fortnight we again brought up the subject of a speedy training. We were interviewed by the adjutant who was awfully decent and promised us action within 24 hours. The promised action came off. Next morning we were told that we had been granted ten days leave [indecipherable word] berth accommodation on the train for Cape Town. Our leave was scheduled to commence at 4.30p.m. At 4.00p.m. word came through that we had been posted to East London & off we went. None of us were very happy [deleted] to be [/deleted] at P.E. and were not sorry to leave. The camp here is a lively one. Jolly good food & pretty nearly no red tape. What is more we have got [page break] cracking on the course right away. It is entirely a S. African course usually consisting of 30 S. Africans but the six of us have been included. The course is a very good one & the teaching thorough. I am enjoying the course immensely it is much more in my line. We have been on the range once to get our eye in. We shot with .22 rifles, I got 135 – 150. Not as good as I should have liked it to be. The course is done in two sections. 4 weeks of instruction on guns, morse code (eventually to receive at 20 words a minute) & aerial sighting. It is very interesting. The [deleted][indecipherable word][/deleted] second section also 4 weeks consists of flying - shooting in the air & dual flying – the latter pleases me immensely. In the first session we fire machine guns on the ground & also camera guns. I think we are all going to enjoy this. Incidentally we are still [underlined] R.A.F. [/underlined] East London is a quiet sea-side resort but we are having a grand time here & have met any number of people including a number of girls. I have not fallen for any of them. Some of them are very sweet all the same. The very first day we were here we met some Scotchmen & a S. African officer at a hotel. A party of 7 of us had a terrific binge. It did us [deleted] the [/deleted] a world of good. We felt new men. Since then we have been out nearly every evening & have been taken everywhere. – To the flicks, pub-crawling, bathing & to peoples homes etc. Everyone has been really damn decent to us. You will be glad to hear that I am taking an intelligent interest in this course. That is definitely a good sign. I intend to be a damn good [page break] [underlined] 2 [/underlined] Air gunner. I am sure I shall like it. I have quite a number of snaps to send you [deleted] whitch [/deleted] which I shall send on shortly. I have got into touch with Thomas Cook’s regarding the [deleted] cable yo [/deleted] money you sent. It was damn decent of you Dad. I did not like asking for it. But we thought we were going home & had a last fling in S. Africa as we thought. Also our new rate of pay 3s per day is not bad but it doesn’t cover a great deal. Still the main thing is that we are happy at East London, almost as happy as we were at Cape Town. I shall send a photograph of Shirley the girl I met at Cape Town. We had some good times there. We may go there on leave after the course. But I am not thinking of that at the moment. I am working instead. I pay attention at lectures & then do a spot of consolidating [deleted] at [/deleted] after lectures. Some of us went roller skating at P.E. and enjoyed it. Apart from the little married girl and her friend I had no regrets in leaving P.E. I met her brother here yesterday he had motored in for the week-end from P.E. He is a nice lad. I was very pleased to see him. I play quite a bit of Table Tennis these days. The only other exercise I get is swimming at weekends with sunbathing combined. I am getting quite brown. No more today. God bless you. Love & kisses from Your loving son [underlined] David. [/underlined] Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Subject The topic of the resource World War (1939-1945) Description An account of the resource Letter from Leading Aircraftsman David Boldy to his father about about his air gunner course at East London. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource David Boldy Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03-16 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Three page handwritten letter Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text. Correspondence Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EBoldyDABoldyAD410316 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. South Africa South Africa--Cape Town South Africa--East London South Africa--Port Elizabeth Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Title A name given to the resource Letter from David Boldy to his father Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Steve Christian air gunner aircrew training https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1265/17163/PWhiteheadT18010012.jpg d50d9d74f1b09a4dc7ec35ef29a5247d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Whitehead, Tom. Prisoner of war album Description An account of the resource Forty seven page album of prisoner of war related photographs. Contains over 250 photographs depicting camp life, sports, theatrical and other entertainment. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource NCO's and officers arts and crafts exhibitions - Stalag Luft 3 and 1 Description An account of the resource Top left - a man looking closely at a model ship on a table. In the background other figures. Captioned 'A10 NCO's Arts and Crafts Exhib, Stalag Luft 3'. Top middle - four posters/drawings mounted on wall. Captioned 'A15 NCO's Arts and Crafts Exhib, Stalag Luft 3'. Top right - three model aircraft and a model car. Captioned 'Officers 's Arts and Crafts Exhib, Stalag Luft 1, Mar 41'. Centre left - three men behind a table containing three model ships. Captioned 'A14 NCO's Arts and Crafts Exhib, Stalag Luft 3'. Centre right - model Sopwith Camel on table. Captioned 'NCO's Arts and Crafts Exhib, Stalag Luft 3, Aug 42'. Bottom left - A table with model ships. Four men stand behind looking at models. Captioned 'A13, NCO's Arts and Crafts Exhib, Stalag Luft 3, Aug'. Bottom middle - two portraits and another drawing. Captioned 'A19, NCO's Arts and Crafts Exhib, Stalag Luft 3'. Bottom right - a model monoplane with a matchbox alongside on a table. Captioned 'NCO's Arts and Crafts Exhib, Stalag Luft 3, Aug 42'. . Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Poland Poland--Żagań Germany Germany--Barth Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03 1942-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Eight b/w photographs mounted on an album page Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PWhiteheadT18010012 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 1942-08 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Language A language of the resource eng prisoner of war prisoner of war arts and crafts Stalag Luft 1 Stalag Luft 3 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/474/51037/SClydeSmithD39856v10011.2.pdf fa5ffa5245dad6f0c1060828375e4618 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clyde-Smith, Denis Clyde-Smith, D Description An account of the resource Collection contains 34 items and concerns Squadron Leader Denis Clyde-Smith Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross, who joined the Royal Air Force and trained as a pilot in 1937. He flew in the anti aircraft cooperation role including remotely piloted Queen Bee aircraft before serving on Battle aircraft on 32 Squadron. He completed operational tours on Wellington with 115 and 218 Squadrons and Wellington and Lancaster with 9 Squadron after which he went to the aircraft and armament experimental establishment at Boscombe Down. The collection consists of two logbooks, aircraft histories of some of the aircraft he flew, photographs of people and aircraft, newspaper articles, a long memoir of his service and gallantry award certificate. The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Clyde-Smith and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-09-19 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Clyde-Smith, D Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reminiscences of service in the Royal Air Force - 1937 to 1945 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource D Clyde-Smith Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1937-05-10 1938 1939 1940-10 1941 1941-03 1942-06-01 1942-11-18 1937-09-27 1941-03-03 1941-06-21 1941-07-03 1942-05-30 1942-10-25 1942-11-01 1942-11-16 1937-07 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03-03 1941-06-21 1941-07-03 1942-05-30 1942-10-25 1942-11-01 1942-11-16 1938-05-10 1939-12-10 1940-12-10 1941-07-04 1943-02-09 1943-05-10 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Northamptonshire England--Northampton England--Dorset England--Christchurch (Dorset) England--Isle of Wight England--Buckinghamshire England--Somerset England--Hampshire England--Manchester England--Oxfordshire England--Devon England--Plymouth Scotland--Dumfries and Galloway Scotland--Stranraer England--Norfolk Germany Germany--Hannover England--West Sussex Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea Germany--Kiel Germany--Cologne France France--Saint-Nazaire Germany--Bremen Italy Italy--Milan Italy--Turin Italy--Genoa Italy--Naples Egypt Egypt--Cairo Sudan Sudan--Khartoum Kenya Kenya--Nairobi Zimbabwe Zimbabwe--Bulawayo South Africa South Africa--Cape Town Zambia Zambia--Ndola Zimbabwe--Harare England--Poole (Dorset) Germany--Berlin France--Lorient Germany--Hamburg Germany--Hannover Netherlands Netherlands--Amsterdam Germany--Münster in Westfalen Germany--Ruhr (Region) North Africa England--Cornwall (County) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Memoir Photograph Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 29 printed sheets Conforms To An established standard to which the described resource conforms. Pending text-based transcription Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SClydeSmithD39856v10011 Description An account of the resource Starts with joining on short service commission and covers, in great detail, his pilot training activities, including a crash landing during a cross country. After receiving his wings award, he moves to trials work, target towing and aircraft ferrying. After a short time on Fairy Battle he was posted to sea planes. In 1940 he moved to Wellington conversion and then to operations on 115 Squadron. He gives his account of flying and operations, including diversion due to bad weather over England, and the loss of 42 aircraft that night. He tells of life at RAF Marham and problems of extreme cold when flying. Comments on German defences, bomber tactics, problems with dinghies and ditching and discipline. He mentions moving to 218 Squadron and comments on Wellington Mk II. He relates a story of an operation to Kiel and the end of first operational tour. He goes on to describe a training tour, including involvement in 1,000 bomber operation to Cologne. He provides history of 9 Squadron and covers his posting as flight commander to that squadron. He writes of operations to Bremen, Saint Nazaire, where his aircraft was hit and damaged by anti-aircraft fire resulting in a crash landing at RAF Abingdon. He goes on to describe Wellington fuel system and hospitalisation for an eye injury. He writes of conversion to Lancaster and comments on aircrafts good points and mentions attacks on Italian targets. He covers his aircraft's "Zola" nose art and the end of the second tour. He relates subsequent loss of his aircraft and navigator who had not completed his tour. He gives a good description of bombing tactics and start of pathfinders and target marking. He writes about his subsequent postings as a test pilot and trips through Africa. Appendixes include: transcripts from newspaper reports about his crash while training; seven letters home which cover his operations and activities on his first operational tour (Berlin, Hamburg), Cologne, operations to Italy, press reports, and Royal visit. Included is a transcript of The Times newspaper article which describes actions by Denis and his rear gunner, P/O F G Chalk, when attacked by Me 110. Concludes with service history and marriage announcement. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Maureen Clarke 115 Squadron 218 Squadron 27 OTU 3 Group 5 Group 9 Squadron air gunner aircrew anti-aircraft fire bale out Battle bombing bombing of Cologne (30/31 May 1942) crash crewing up Distinguished Flying Cross Distinguished Service Order forced landing ground personnel Halifax Lancaster Magister Me 110 military living conditions nose art Operational Training Unit Pathfinders pilot prisoner of war RAF Abingdon RAF Benson RAF Farnborough RAF Harwell RAF Henlow RAF Lichfield RAF Marham RAF Ringway RAF Sealand RAF Sywell RAF Tangmere RAF Weston Zoyland Stranraer Sunderland Swordfish Tallboy Tiger Moth training V-2 V-weapon Walrus Wellington Women’s Auxiliary Air Force https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1399/37508/NJensenOKL150407-01.2.jpg 937419464f04f6f5bbd6702d448e7adc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jensen, Oscar Oscar Knud Lerche Jensen O K L Jensen Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-04-07 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Jensen, OKL Description An account of the resource Eight items. The collection concerns Sergeant Oscar Knud Lerche Jensen (Royal Canadian Air Force) and contains photographs and news clippings.<br /><br />The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Paul Jensen and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. <br /><br />Additional information on <span>Oscar Knud Lerche Jensen</span>&nbsp;is available via the&nbsp;<a href="https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/112138/">IBCC Losses Database.</a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Safe arrival Description An account of the resource Newspaper cutting announcing safe arrival of Oscar Jensen in England. Includes b/w full face portrait. Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Canadian Air Force Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One newspaper cutting Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context NJensenOKL150407-01 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive aircrew wireless operator / air gunner https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/641/32464/BSmithJSmithJv1-2.1.pdf fa99ddac1408d0948f187f5b15dccf96 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Smith, Jack John George Smith J G Smith Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Smith, JG Description An account of the resource Three items. An oral history interview with John 'Jack' Smith (1921 -2019) and his memoirs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 189 Squadron. The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by John Smith and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-04-08 Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document Sparks in the Air These are the wartime recollections of Pinchbeck resident John George Smith known to his friends as Jack. Jack was born in 1921, the son of George and Bessie Smith. George was the keeper of a smallholding, raising Poultry and assisting a local farmer. [photograph of Jack] As a young teenager growing up in 1930’s England, through the newspapers of the day, Jack was aware of events taking place in Germany and of Britain’s own Fascist problems directed by Oswald Mosley. Although still only a teenager, Jack approached the time he would leave school realising that another war in Europe was inevitable. Jack left Donington Grammar School in1937 his parents and relatives asking the question “What are you going to do?” Jack had an ambition to become a Chartered Accountant however this required any potential candidate to pay an indenture however the cost was prohibitive and Jack decided to try and join the RAF instead. Ironically jack encountered the same obstacles as his Father who had been unable to join up to serve his country during the First World War because of the poor state of his teeth. At the age of 17, Jack had 22 teeth removed! Having seen an advert in the Spalding Free Press for “Well educated youth required by Chartered Accountants, Hodgson, Harris & Co”, a national company who had a small office in Spalding over Gibbs shoe shop, Jack applied and got his first job. There was no payment to the company however it only had a low wage of ten shillings a week. There were no girls in the office and as a consequence Jack had to learn shorthand typing to a standard of 100 words/minute, this alongside learning accountancy. [bold] This is Jacks[sic] account of his wartime memories. [/bold] When war broke out on 3rd September 1939 recruiting for the forces had started at 20 years plus however I was only 18 at the time. Accountancy was not a reserved occupation and in the August of 1940 I and my colleague Bill Taylor who was the same age as me and worked in the same office both decided to volunteer for the RAF as we didn’t fancy the Army or the Navy. In September 1940 we were called to the RAF station at Padgate near Warrington to be attested and undergo a medical. Bill and I undertook intelligence tests but we both knew that we wanted to be Wireless Operators. [page break] Although the war was now into its second year, there had been as yet no air raids in South Lincolnshire. Whilst at Padgate we suffered ten air raid warnings but fortunately no damage was inflicted on the airfield. It was my first experience of an air raid. This took place over the 13th, 14th and 15th of September and later became known as the Battle of Britain weekend when British fighters shot down 185 German planes. After my three days at Padgate I returned home to Lincolnshire and on the 4th November 1940 I and my friend Bill Taylor were required to travel to Blackpool. We left from Donington and travelled by train via Manchester arriving at Blackpool in the late afternoon. We were directed to Offices in the centre of Blackpool where we were officially enrolled in the Royal Air Force. Bill and I were then separated and I was lodged at a boarding house at 30 Reads Avenue Blackpool where another 15 RAF personnel were also residing. I was accommodated in the attic where there was a single fanlight, two beds and a wash basin. The next morning we assembled on the promenade near to the Hotel Metropole. Grouped into Units of approximately thirty, we were placed in the charge of an Acting Corporal. We commenced drill training and were marched around Blackpool for exercise stopping around mid morning at a Café for coffee and buns! As we were potential Wireless Operators we were required to attend the Winter Gardens daily where we were given instruction in radio technicalities and morse training. Due to double Summertime being in operation, it was exceptionally dark when we set out for the day at 8am. I was given the role of marker to the squad and marched at the front carrying a lantern. There was no heating in the Winter Gardens where we sat throughout the day in our greatcoats breaking only for refreshments before finishing training at around 4 to 4.30 pm. The food at the boarding house was acceptable being plain in nature but sufficient. In the evenings we were free to enjoy the night life of Blackpool but we had to be back by 10.30pm. After I had been there for several weeks, I joined a harmonica band consisting of around ten or twelve members and we performed at concerts held in various village halls in the area. The highlight was being able to perform at the Opera House on the same bill as George Formby. After three weeks I moved to 45 Ashburton Road along with three other RAF personnel. It was a much more homely atmosphere there, living and eating with an elderly couple who owned the property. After another three or four weeks I moved further down Ashburton Road but only stayed for a couple of nights as it was overcrowded with five to a room. I then moved to 4 Bank Street off the promenade near to the Hotel Metropole and where I had to parade each morning. This was a private hotel and very comfortable as I shared a room with only one other member of the RAF. it was extremely convenient for excursions into town in the evenings and I was happy to remain there until it was time to move on from Blackpool. [page break] Radio training continued everyday and we were tested each week at the premises of Burtons the Tailors. We were required to increase morse speed by one word per minute each week until a speed of twelve words per minute had been achieved at which point the course in Blackpool was concluded. [RAF Radio School crest] We were then posted to radio schools on normal RAF stations. I was posted to No. 3 radio School at RAF Compton Bassett in Wiltshire which was for ground operators. There was another radio school nearby to Compton Bassett, No. 4 at Yatesbury which was for aircrew operators. I enjoyed life here for the first time on a proper RAF station. My day started at 6:30 am with PT on the parade ground square before starting work at 8:00 am. I was at Compton Bassett from the end of March 1941 to the end of June which was when I qualified as a ground wireless operator and was allowed to wear ‘sparks’ on my right arm. Having successfully completed training I was allowed home for two weeks leave. This was my first leave since travelling to Blackpool the previous November. I thoroughly enjoyed the break and whilst there I received a posting to the RAF station at Bramcote near Nuneaton. This was a regular peacetime station however at this time it was mainly occupied by members of the Polish Air Force. This was my first experience of an operational signals cabin and for the first time working for real with a radio set. After several weeks at Bramcote, at the end of July, I was notified I was going on embarkation leave. After three weeks leave I had to make my way to the RAF station at West Kirby in the Wirral Peninsula. On arrival here, I found that several of my fellow colleagues who had been at radio school were also awaiting the same posting. We were all accommodated in tents. [photograph] POLISH Aircrew RAF - Fairey Battle Mk 1 sun L5427 BH*E of 300 (Polish) Bomb Squadron “Mazoviecka Province” - RAF Bramcote August 1940 - [page break] After several days we were moved by RAF transport into Liverpool for embarkation. The docks were very busy with movement of troops. We marched in units towards the vessel we were to leave England on. This vessel was the Orient Liner SS OTRANTO. Otranto was a 20,000grt passenger vessel that had been modified as a troop carrier. Some 500 RAF personnel embarked along with 3000 men of the Yorkshire Regiment. The decks of the ship went from A to H. RAF personnel were accommodated on E deck which was the last level with portholes. [photograph] There were eighteen on each mess table, we slept in hammocks and the toilets were primitive. Ten toilets without doors so there was no privacy. We knew nothing of our destination as security was so tight. On each mess table, two of the men were nominated as mess orderlies and had to bring the food from the galley. I was lumbered with one of these jobs! After being on board for 24 hours, we departed Liverpool. For me this was quite an experience having never been on a Liner before. It was quite a bright day on 31st August 1941 and our course followed the coast of Northern Ireland. We all started to take a guess at our destination and some of us thought we may be off to Canada to start our Air Crew training. For a day or so we headed due what until we were well clear of the Irish coast and out into the Atlantic. We were under escort of a number of Royal Navy vessels including two Battle Ships, the ill fated HMS REPULSE and HMS PRINCE OF WALES. [photograph] Repulse [photograph] Prince of Wales [page break] There was very little to do onboard and very little reading material available. The only book that seemed to be in circulation was ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’. After some time a number of personnel got sick and went off their food. It reached a point that on my table only myself and one other Mess Orderly were eating. A number of the party were literally very green and extremely poorly. The vessel eventually altered to a southerly course from its westward heading, still under escort, many of us spent a lot of time just sleeping and looking over the side watching the waves. Some spent their time writing letters intending to drop them off at the first port of call. All letters were censored prior to posting and in fact one of my associates was identified by the OIC as having referred to the Commanding Officer as bring “nothing more than a broken down commercial traveller”. As a result he was brough before the CO and given 7 days confinement to barracks which in this case was a cell in the depths of the ship on deck ‘H’. Several days later the vessel changed to an easterly direction giving rise to further speculation as to our destination. Eventually we made landfall on the west coast of Africa, berthing at Freetown where we stayed for a week. This was a very boring seven days as we were not allowed shore leave. We amused ourselves by watching the local boys jumping into the harbour to retrieve coins that were being thrown into the water by army personnel. The temperature was extremely hot and the humidity was high. At the end of the week we left Freetown and the vessel headed in a southerly direction. We now assumed our destination to be South Africa. As we were now in a consistently hot climate, some of us erected our hammocks on deck where it was much cooler to sleep. The next sighting of land was that of “Table Mountain” on the Cape however to our surprise we did not call at Capetown but carried on further along the South African coast eventually calling at Durban. We stayed here for a week and during that time were allowed shore leave daily. We were kindly entertained by South Africans who took us to restaurants and hotels for meals and tours in the neighbouring countryside. The weather was perfect and this was a really enjoyable and welcome break. We were extremely surprised that none of us were staying on in South Africa. We Aircrew thought that we may have been going on to Southern Rhodesia to continue air training – no such luck ,,,,,! At the end of this week we once again set sail along with our escort of Battleships heading east into the Indian Ocean. We sailed for several days before Repulse and Prince of Wales left us. No one could have imagined that only a few months later both these mighty ships had been sent to the bottom of the South China sea sunk by land based bombers and torpedo bombers of the Imperial Japanese Navy on 10th December 1941. In Japan the engagement was referred to as the Naval Battle of Malaya (Mare-oki Kaisen). We were more fortunate with our destination as the Otranto finally docked in Bombay (Mumbai) India. Once again we were alongside for a week and were entertained on pleasure trips. I found Bombay to be a very exciting and busy place. At the end of this week, we Aircrew were taken off the SS Otranto and transferred to a much smaller vessel, the SS KHEDIVE ISMAIL complete with its Lascar crew. Of 7513 grt, formerly the SS ACONCAGUA, built in 1922 as an Ocean Liner and converted to a troop ship in 1940. [page break] We eventually left Bombay heading West and once clear of India we were advised that we were going to Basrah in Iraq. This revelation was our first indication as to our final destination. There was very little comfort onboard and hammocks were again the order of the day. The Lascar crew were very helpful and attentive and at night whilst in our hammocks they would come around with a bucket of tea or chai as they called it. This was very refreshing especially with the temperature as high as it was. Although the food onboard was quite acceptable, the toilet arrangements were primitive, consisting of a trough the width of the vessel with wood seats where you sat side by side with your fellow airmen – Absolutely no privacy whatsoever …..! We were off into the Arabian Sea without any sight of land until we entered the Straits of Hormuz, being the entrance to the Persian Gulf. We now had no escorts and sailed on alone through the tranquil waters of the Persian Gulf in very high temperatures and daily sunshine. [photograph of SS Khedive Ismail] Land eventually came into sight as we approached the Northern end of the Gulf and we eventually arrived at the Port of Basrah which was a very busy port. After disembarking, we were directed to a very large cargo shed on the dockside where we were to stay for the next few days. We only had beds made from boards and raised off the floor on four empty biscuit tins. The luxury was completed with one blanket and a small pillow. The temperature at this point was most uncomfortable. Whilst awaiting a posting, we were able to go into Barrah itself and sample the local life. The authorities were slightly puzzled as there were some fifty of us qualified Wireless Operators and they were not at all sure what to do with us. This took some time to sort out. Eventually a few of us were posted to Shuaiba which is now the second largest port in the State of Kuwait. At that time it was a camp about ten miles out of Basrah which had been a peacetime RAF camp. The accommodation at Shuaiba was of brick constructed buildings having been built partly below ground to try and reduce the heat as during the height of the season temperatures exceeded 40 deg’s. I spent quite some time carrying out general duties until one morning an order for volunteers for anybody who could type was requested. By this time I was rather tired of filling sand bags and doing guard duty. As I could type and do shorthand, I decided I would risk it and volunteered. I immediately became the Squadron typist and carried out all the office work and correspondence for the C.O. After a week or so the Squadron was posted to Sharjah a British Protectorate which is now a part of the United Arab Emirates. The squadron consisted of 18 Blenheim aircraft all of which were ex OUT and were not terribly serviceable. [page break] The Blenheims were required for anto[sic] submarine patrols up and down the Persian Gulf and out into the Indian Ocean. We were moved to Sharjah by boat and disembarked by dhow into the then village of Dubai. We continued by road transport to Sharjah where we were billeted in huts which had the luxury of fans. On the edge of the airport was a stone built structure known as the ‘Fort’. This was well equipped as it was used by BOAC crew for overnight stops. Because of the very high temperatures, the Mechanics could only work on the aircraft until 10am and then cease until 6pm. It was so hot an egg could be fried on the wings of aircraft. Water was in short supply and the only bathing was done in the sea which was about half a mile away. We only had a small supply of fresh water for shaving and tea was rationed. Food was very repetative with many combinations of risoles you have never seen the like of. Once every fortnight we were allowed American beer which equated to about four half pint cans which were consumed in one night. We used to leave the empty cans outside our billets and by morning they would have been removed by the locals. If you then happened to go into the village of Dubai, these cans could be seen on sale as mugs, having had handles attached. Although I was trained wireless operator, I was still being misemployed as Squadron Typist which mean that I could not be reclassified and so remained an AC2. However, I eventually took the AC1 examination and was upgraded. Like all the other Wireless Operators out there, we all wanted to get back to complete our Air Crew training. The Adjutant suggested I re muster as a Radio Observer which meant I could go to Southern Rhodesia for training or alternatively consider obtaining a commission as a Filter Officer. Whilst at Sharjah I suffered quite badly from ‘prickly heat’ which developed into blisters requiring my admission to the base sick bay. I also had heat exhaustion around the time of my 21st birthday, running a temperature of 106 degs. I was taken to the Fort at the edge of the camp which had air conditioned rooms. My skin problems got progressively worse and I had to have by head completely shaved. I received treatment with bread poultices on my arms and legs which became septic. [photograph of an aeroplane] Eventually I was taken by air to the RAF Hospital at Shuaibah and spent 2-3 weeks there recovering in the dermatology ward. At the end of my hospitalisation, I was posted to Tehran in Iran on sick leave. I travelled by road transport through the town of Ahwaz in Iran and then by train to Tehran. This journey took 24 hours. The train was completely full with people sleeping not just on the seats but also on the luggage racks and corridors. [page break] When the train stopped in the early morning there were many locals selling eggs and bread on the platform which was very welcome. On reaching Tehran we were taken to a rest home on the edge of the city. It had pleasant facilities. We used to go into Tehran in groups of 3 or 4 personnel. Towards the end of the two weeks, I developed tonsillitis which resulted in my being taken to the Sick Bay at the RAF Station at Tehran where I remained for a further ten days. The MO allowed me to remain in Tehran until I felt well enough to travel to Basrah but after about a week, I became quite lonely as all my colleagues had by then left. After arriving back in Basrah I was then posted to Habbaniya, a real peacetime RAF station about fifty five miles West of Baghdad. I was extremely pleased to receive this posting as the climate at Sharjah did not suit me at all. Habbaniya was quite a large base, all brick buildings including two cinemas and a range of shops where you could buy clothing etc. Surprisingly even the food in the Airmans[sic] mess was exceptionally good! There were also facilities for sporting activities including tennis courts. We had local youths acting as what we called “cheekos” who did our laundry and kept the village clean. There were 16 men in each billet and we all paid the equivalent of two shillings per week for this domestic assistance. It was always done promptly and efficiently. Each billet had fans as temperatures were around thirty to forty degrees. I was employed as a Ground operator in a Signals Cabin on a shift system, working stations in the UK and India. I found this to be very enjoyable work. [bold] NOTES ON RAF HABBANIYA, IRAQ [/bold] There were numerous billets, messes and a wide range of leisure facilities including swimming pools, cinemas and theatres, sports pitches, tennis courts and riding stables. It was self-contained with its own power station, water purification plant and sewage farm. Within the base was the Civil Cantonment for the civilian workers and their families and the families of the RAF Iraq Levies. Water taken from the Euphrates for the irrigation systems enabled green lawns, flower beds and even ornamental Botanical Gardens. After World War II the families of British personnel started living at Habbaniya and a school was started. The base at Habbaniya was used by the RAF from October 1936 to the end of May 1959, Not quite a year following the July 1958 revolution. In recent years Habbiniya was used for the manufacture of mustard gas which was used against Iranian troops during the Iran Iraq war. [map of the area] [page break] [centred] The Journey Home (Habininyah to the UK) [/centred] On a February morning in 1943, I was sleeping in the billet after having been on a night shift when I was awoken by some excited discussion. This was caused by a sergeant from the Orderly room reading out a list of names of Operators being posted back to the UK to resume Aircrew training and my name was on the list! It was then necessary to get clearance from the OIC of Signals – so off we went! However the Officer said that as we were all experienced Ground Operators, we could not leave until replacements arrived and this took five months until July. There were six of us with our kit bags that were put on to an open lorry to start our return journey to England. We travelled due west over the Iraqi desert. The temperature was around 40 degs C and after about four hours we stopped for refreshment and toilet relief. The stop took place at a point on the “Oil Line” known as H3. We carried on, passing through the small town of Al Rutbah which was the only sign of any habitation that we had thus far seen. Before darkness we stopped for the night somewhere near to the Syrian/Jordanian border, having to make ourselves as comfortable as possible on our kitbags. The next morning we resumed our journey travelling just north of the Dead Sea until we arrived in a small coastal town in Gaza just South of Tel Aviv. We were in a small transit camp with brick billets, completely unfurnished. We had to sleep on a blanket on a stone floor and in the morning we all had a large number of insect bites! After spending a couple of days on a Mediterranean beach we embarked on a train for Cairo. It was a pleasant journey as it followed the coast and at each station there were vendors of eggs and bread. On arrival in Cairo we were taken by truck to the RAF base at Almaza, a few miles out of town. On this occasion we were accommodated in small (2 person) tents whilst we awaited the Liner which would return us to the UK. After ten days in Almaza, we Wireless Operators were taken to Alexandria where we boarded a large Liner. Unfortunately I never knew its name however it apparently was the first ship to go through the Mediterranean since it was closed at the beginning of the war. We docked in Algiers for two days and the day after we sailed away, the Luftwaffe attacked Algiers. Our next stop was Gibralter where every night depth charges were set off at intervals as a deterrent to U-Boats. However during our five night stay there was no air raid. The last leg of the journey was north into the Atlantic and around Ireland into the River Clyde. This was uneventful but as we sailed into Greenock it was wonderful to once again see all the green vegetation. Something that I had missed in the two years I had been away. It was now the end of August, exactly two years since I had left. There was also good news – Italy had surrendered. I was also very happy now to send a phone message to my folks via their neighbours to let them know that I was back in the UK. I travelled by train to RAF West Kirby on the Wirral to leave my tropical kit and get a three week leave pass. The next day I had arrived home to a very happy reunion with Mother and Dad. I spent the next three weeks meeting relatives and friends recounting my travels. [page break] After three weeks disembarkation leave, I was posted to Number 4 Radio School at Madley near Hereford. This was where I was to resume Air Crew training as a Wireless Operator, flying Dominis and Proctors. [photograph] The [bold] Percival Proctor [/bold] was a British radio trainer and communications aircraft of the Second World War. The Proctor was a single-engined, low-wing monoplane with seating for three or four, depending on the model. [photograph] At the start of the Second World War, many (Dragon) Rapides were impressed by the British armed forces and served under the name [bold] de Havilland Dominie [/bold]. They were used for passenger and communications duties. Over 500 further examples were built specifically for military purposes, powered by improved Gipsey[sic] Queen Engines, to bring total production to 731. The Dominies were mainly used by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy for radio and navigation training. This was my first experience of flying and operating as a Wireless Operator and here we were flying most days for about one and a half hours carrying out various operation exercises on the radio. RAF Madley was also a peacetime Station and the accommodation was quite good and included bunks for two members each in huts containing about sixteen personnel. Whilst I was here, I was with a number of the men that I had served with in Iraq so I was quite happy with the friends that I already knew. We used to go into the local village in the evenings, frequenting the local hostelries where I had an enjoyable time making up the[sic] for the two years I had spent overseas! The course finished at the end of December 1943 and this is when I passed out and was promoted to Sergeant. At the same time I was also presented with my previ, the letter ‘S’ for Signals in the centre. Previously Wireless Operators had been Air Gunners as well but that had by then been discontinued and a Wireless Operator was purely a Wireless Operator and not required to do a Gunnery course. Having qualified, I was kept on for a few more weeks assisting with the training of other personnel. At the end of April 1944 I was posted along with some of the other Wireless operators to No 9 Advanced Flying Unit at Llandwrog in North Wales which is close to the town of Pwihelli and also close to Caenarfon. The drome here was along the coastline and planes taking off the runway immediately across the Irish sea. [page break] At Llandwrog we were training in Anson aircraft doing cross country exercises, out across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man, back to the Lancashire coast and returning to base in Wales. This was during the month of May 1944 and continued into June until the course was completed on 12th June 1944. By this time, I’d had 43 hours of lectures and about 37 hours of flying time. This had been quite good experience as we had been night flying on a number of occasions and experienced flying in terrific thunderstorms. The whole aircraft having been completely encircled in a blue light including the wings! This was quite an unnerving experience. [photograph] On two occasions whilst stationed at Llandwrog, two of the training aircraft taking off failed to raise into the air and ditched in the sea. Each about 200 -300 metres from the shore. Fortunately the crews survived. During my time there I was kept pretty busy however I did get into the local pub occasionally. There was a bit of a problem in that the pubs closed at 9 o’clock in the evening so you were never late getting back to camp. I was aware that there were certain local farms where airmen could go and have a bacon and egg meal and other enjoyable food but I never managed that. Having completed the advanced w/t course, I was then posted to No. 17 Operational Training Unit at Turweston, Northamptonshire which was also part of RAF Silverstone. Turweston was the satellite drone where I spent my first period operating. It was here at Turweston where we were all selected into different crews which was quite a hit and miss affair. This was because the Pilots were selecting more or less randomly the members of their crew from those present in the room. I was picked by an Australian Pilot, Flight Sergeant Rob Richter. In addition to myself we had a Navigator (Alan Capey) from Stoke on Trent, a Bomb Aimer (Taffy Cross) from Llanelli, an Flight Engineer (Ossy Williams) from New Malden, a Mid Upper Gunner (Price Proctor) from Hartlepool and a Tail Gunner (Paddy McCrum) from Belfast. It seemed strange putting together a crew in such an informal manner but thank goodness it all worked out reasonably well and we all sort of bedded down together in pretty good form. We then started operating together and flew in Vickers Wellington Mk III’s and I was now flying as a Wireless Operator no longer under training. [page break] [photograph] We were accommodated in nissan huts amongst a lot of trees and I was working together with a team for the first time. As we got on so well together we were socialising each evening, visiting the local hostelries in Silverstone and Brackley. The weather at this time was perfect and I was enjoying the experience of flying with a crew in the Wellington aircraft. The flying exercises we were doing began with circuits and landings. We then developed this on to cross country and high level bombing exercises at Wainfleet in Lincs. and also Epperstone in Notts. This included air firing for the benefit of the gunners. At the end of July our crew were moved into the RAF base at Silverstone with more permanent accommodation than we had previously had at Turweston. It was all most comfortable and I was quite content here. We were now mainly doing cross country flights on a regular basis with these being between three and five hours in length. In the middle of August we were sent on a semi operational patrol known as a “Nickel Raid”’ dropping foil paper to interfere with radio in enemy territory. This was a flight to Nantes in France where we unloaded the foil. This was a five hour trip. Two days later we were sent on a “Bullseye” which was a diversionary raid for the benefit of the main force. This was a trip to the coast of Holland to the town of Imjuiden. During the time at Turweston and Silverstone we had experience of 57 hours of daytime flying and 57 hours of night flying. As part of the training we carried out bale out drill, ditching, dinghy and oxygen drills as well as procedures when lost at night. It was the Wireless Operators job to carry the radio transmitter into the dinghy which would be used to transmit any distress signals. I’m pleased to say that this situation never arose. On 24th August 1944 we were sent on two weeks leave after which we were then posted to the Heavy Conversion Unit no. 1661 at RAF Winthorpe near Newark. The planes we used here were Mk III and V Stirlings. We carried out more cross country exercises however we were only here for one month. Our Pilot always likened the Stirling to the equivalent of flying a Double Decker Bus because the undercarriage was so high. [page break] [black and white photograph of a Short Stirling] Short Stirling On the 18th October 1944 we were posted to No. 5 Lancaster finishing school at Syerston, between Newark and Nottingham. This was our first experience of flying Lancasters. We were only here until the 8th November when we were all posted to various squadrons. [Crest of Royal Air Force Syerston] I and my fellow crew were posted to the RAF staion [sic] at Fulbeck which was purely a wartime air station and here we joined No. 189 squadron which is a Base that we shared with No. 59 Squadron. I arrived at RAF Fulbeck on the 9th November 1944. The Station was situated between RAF Cranwell and the villages of Leadenham and Brant Broughton all with good pubs which we visited regularly when off duty. My home in Quadring was only 25 miles away and as I had my bicycle I went home for the evening several times. I left camp at 4pm and by 6pm I was home. At midnight I would return to camp, arriving two hours later. It was a lonely ride but I usually had a pint bottle of beer in my saddle bag for refreshment on the journey! The daily routine in camp commenced about 9am when all crew members reported to their Sections. We were then given the days programme after which it was necessary to check your own particular equipment. At midday we all returned to either the officers or Sergeants mess for lunch. The only flying our crew did in November was a cross country and two high level bombing exercises at Wainfleet and Epperstone. Naturally we were waiting to be called for our first operation and during the month we had the experience of being fully briefed for three trips, all being cancelled before take off which was a bit nerve wrecking. However on the 4th December 1944 when we reported to our Sections we were informed that we would be on ‘Ops’ that night. After lunch the procedure was for all crews to attend the full Squadron briefing between 4pm and 5pm when we were told the target location and purpose of the raid. Depending on the nature of the target, the maximum bomb load was 16,000 lbs and 2,200 gallons of fuel. With a full load of bombs/fuel, the total weight of the plane on take off was 30 tons. The flight plan gave the level at which we would be bombing and could be 8000 to 16000 feet. The more trips you did, then lower was the level at which you bombed. [page break] There were usually several Squadrons - about 200 aircraft on night trips. There was a rendezvous point, either Northampton or Beachy Head, for us to group together. As the whole force would be over the target for thirty minutes, each crew was given a bombing time - H plus 10 or H plus 20 etc. It was an amazing experience in total darkness with no lights on the planes and a complete blackout of all towns and villages below. Our average take off time was 7 to 8pm. As we were not permitted to return to the mess or accommodation after lunch, we had sandwiches and flasks of tea with us. Upon returning to base, often in the early hours of the morning we were first debriefed on the raid. After that we had a very welcome meal of bacon and eggs etc, before going off to bed. Our first trip was to HEILBRON near STUTTGART in the RUHR to bomb the railway marshalling yards. Taking off for your first raid was a rather eerie feeling, not knowing what it would be like or if you would be coming back. However, once airborne your thoughts fall to getting the job done. After three hours we were over the target area giving us a very bumpy ride. Thankfully we were not hit and having dropped our 4000 lb bomb and a load of incendiaries, the yards were glowing with the fires raging. We returned to base safely and satisfied with our first operation. Our next ‘Op’ was GIESSEN near FRANKFURT on 6th December where the target was once again marshalling yards. On the 19th December we went on a long ten hour journey to GDYNIA. All went fairly well until we arrived over the target which was the docks. We should have done a ‘dog leg’ around the target (which we somehow missed!) to enable us to bomb on a northerly heading, coming out of the run over the Baltic Sea. As a consequence we were coned by searchlights and received heavy targeted gunfire from the German Navy below. Fortunately they missed us and we eventually had a successful raid. To avoid the enemy night fighters our Pilot took us down and we flew as low as possible over the Baltic and North Sea, not seeing any other activity although there had been some 200 enemy night fighters in amongst the main stream of bombers on the way home. Two nights later we were sent to POLITZ, not far from GDYNIA which was another ten hour trip. On this occasion we were in heavy gunfire and heavy anti aircraft fire and for the first time we witnessed ‘Scarecrow’ being used by the enemy in order to create panic. Once again we were successful and set out to return home. On the journey back we were informed by radio that Lincolnshire was completely fog bound and we were diverted to RAF Milltown near Elgin. We remained there, as from 21st to 28th December 1944, Lincolnshire continued to be fog bound. Far Right: ‘Scarecrow’ [black and white photograph of a ‘Scarecrow’ exploding] AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL SUK12055 [page break] On the 30th December, we were sent to Houffalize, Belgium which was a town in the middle of the Western Front, south of Liege in the Ardennes. Here we were supposed to bomb the front line which was a rather delicate operation. Although it was a relatively short trip of five hours, we needed a lot of care as to where we were bombing. We learned later that a number of the Polish army had been caught by the bombs on that occasion. On New years Day 1945 we were sent to bomb Gravenhorst for the numerous oil targets that were situated there. Unfortunately we could not return to base and once again returned to Milltown in Scotland where we stayed for a couple of days. On 4th January, I flew with another crew piloted by Flying Officer Martin due to the sickness of their Wireless Operator. On this occasion we went to Royan, a town in the south West of France near to Bordeaux principally to attack the Submarines of the German Navy which were on the river there. This was a seven hour journey to the mouth of the Gironde which was quite uneventful. On the 13th January we were sent to the town of Politz again which was a ten and a half hour trip. We were successful mainly targeting oil and marshalling yards alongside the Navy. Because of the length of the trip, on the return journey the flight engineer indicated that our fuel was not sufficient to get back to base. I made contact with base to establish where we should land given our circumstances and we were directed to make for Carnaby which was the emergency landing strip near to Flamborough Head in Yorkshire. We were fortunate to land there safely as there was virtually no fuel leaf onboard. On the 16th January I was back with my own crew and flew with them to the town of Brux. This was an oil target with a round trip time of nine and a half hours. This was over towards the Polish area. On the 1st and 2nd February we attacked the towns of Siegen and Karlsruhe. Both these trips were bright moonlit nights which made it much easier for the German night fighters to attack us when we were silhouetted against the moon. We did experience interference from night fighters and as always the anti aircraft fire was very intense. On the Karlsruhe trip, out of our 18 aircraft we lost 4 that night. On the 7th February we went to Ladbergen in order to attack the Dortmund-Ems canal. On this occasion we only carried 1000lb bombs with no incendiaries in the hope that we inflicted as much damage as possible to the canal. On the 13th February we had a very long trip to Dresden. This we were told was because the Russians had driven the German Army back and it was encamped in Dresden. This was termed as a “Russian Army co-operation raid”. The American Airforce had been operational during the day and had bombed the target so by the time we were arriving around midnight, the town was ablaze. We were successful over the target but did encounter a lot of the usual anti aircraft and fighter aircraft. On the way back to base over the Alps we were icing up and had to go down as low as possible which was a tricky operation being amongst the mountains. However we were once again able to make it back to base. [page break] Of course after this raid there has been much publicity about it and as the years have passed, the extent of the damage became more apparent and the subject tended to not be mentioned. However being aware of the reasons for the raid, it seemed to me to be a very satisfactory legitimate target and one that was done with extreme efficiency. The very next night on 14th February, we attacked an oil target at Rositz which is near Leipzig. This was another nine hour journey there and back. A few nights later on 19th February we were again in the vicinity of Leipzig over the town of Bohlen and once again it was an oil target. On all these Oil targets we carried a 1000lb’er and a load of incendiaries. On 20th February we went all the way to Gravenhorst but unfortunately the sortie was aborted and we were unable to return to base because of adverse weather conditions and we were diverted to Colerne. On 23rd February we were given a very different target in Horten which were the docks in the Oslo fjord in Norway which had a German Naval base there. This was a comparatively short trip it being only six and half hours and we experienced a lot of intense anti-aircraft fire from the German Naval gunners. On 12th March, we carried out our first raid in daylight and joined a one thousand bomber force. The target that day was the town of Dortmund. This was quite a new experience and rather frightening being amongst so many other bombers, all at the same time and all approaching the same area. However, the raid was successful and we returned without incident in what was a five hour trip. The next trip was to Lutzkendorf, an oil target which was quite a long journey and well into Eastern Germany. This was on 14th March and although the raid was a success, we did lose several aircraft. Once again the weather conditions in Lincolnshire prevented us from returning to base and we were diverted to Manston in Kent where there was an emergency landing strip. Two days later on 16th March we had another oil target to attack in the town of Wurzburg. Here we experienced a lot of fighter activity and heavy anti-aircraft. We were very lucky to get back! On 20th March we returned to raid Bohlen near Leipzig and this was another eight hour trip. On 23rd March we were sent to the town of Wesel to attack the marshalling yards there. This was a mere five and half hour trip which we carried out without incident. On 4th April we were sent on a daylight raid to Nordhausen and this was to attack oil targets and the marshalling yards. On 23rd April we were again raiding in daylight, this time to Flensburg on the Kiel canal. This was to attack the submarine pens there however the sortie was aborted and we returned home without encountering any problems. Three days later we were sent to Brussels to repatriate a group of ex prisoners of war. We managed to pack in twenty four in the fuselage of the aircraft and we flew to Westcott in Buckinghamshire. This made a very pleasant change and the former POW’s were naturally in good spirits. As the war was nearing its conclusion, we found ourselves doing more training exercises for a day or two and on 6th may[sic] we were back in Brussels collecting more former POW’s and this time we brought them home to Dunsfold in Surrey. [page break] We repeated this some six days later on 12th May. On each occasion there were twenty six former POW’s in our fuselage. On 15th April we flew to Lille to repatriate more POW’s. On 16th April 1945 we were sent on a grand tour of Germany to see what damage had been done. This covered the towns and cities of Bremen, Hamburg, Harburg in Bavaria, Brunswick, Cassel, Wurzburg, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Cologne, Osnabruck and back to base. The whole trip took some eight and a half hours. This was a very interesting and exciting flight to see just what effect the bombing had on Germany. On 1st April 1945, the Squadron had been transferred to Bardney which is nine miles east of Lincoln. This is the RAF station from where we operated the two daylight raids and the trips to collect the former POW’s. Also on this Station was No. 9 Squadron. They specialised in carrying very large bombs which they used to bomb the hiding place of Hitler in the Mountains. On most of the raids I was on, the anti-aircraft fire was quite intense in most places and the night fighters were usually very busy. The one frightening aspect that the defenders of certain targets used was to send up “scarecrows” this giving the impression of one of our bombers exploding and crashing in flames. How this was achieved, I am unsure but it was extremely frightening. Our crew had the unfortunate luck of having to be changed after the third trip as our Rear Gunner had been caught sleeping twice whilst we were still over enemy territory. On the first occasion when the Skipper called to him there was no reply and I was asked to go and find out what the problem was. I found that both the turret doors were open and he was lying back on the shute into the turret with his intercom lead pulled out of the socket. I informed the Skipper that he had not replied because his intercom was out. However on the very next trip the same situation occurred again whilst we were still well over Germany. On that occasion I did report to the Skipper that he was in fact asleep. After that he was removed from the Crew and we had to have substitutes for the remainder of our trips. After the raid on Karlsruhe we had lost four aircraft which I have already referred to but in fact on several trips one or two failed to return however I have no record of the numbers lost in my period of Operations. In the May of 1945, the Crews were being dispersed as our tours had finished with the war coming to an end on 8th May 1945. A number of us volunteered to assist with hay making and I spent about two weeks on a farm near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire after which we were all sent on leave for a few weeks. As we completed the tour, we were then given a rest period and at that point we expected to be going on operations in the Far East at the later stage however the war ended there on 15th August. As I was home on leave, I received a posting to RAF Woodbridge which was an emergency landing strip in Suffolk. There I was more or less just operating in the Flight Control Tower and also assisting in the Officers and Sergeants Mess’s with their accounting systems. I had plenty of spare time and the town of Ipswich was close by. This is where [I] and my friends were going most nights. [page break] One of my close friends at Woodbridge was Warrant Officer Bill Patterson, a pilot who had a lady friend called Rena in Ipswich. I was told that Rena had a lady friend who said that she would like to meet me. A date was duly arranged for the 4th November 1945 for me to meet this lady on the steps of the Post Office in Ipswich at 6 o’clock. The person that turned up was a young lady called Avis Fleet. That evening we went with Bill and Rena as a foursome for a drink in Ipswich and we had a very pleasant time. Consequently I continued to meet Avis on a regular basis and was taken to her home on Norwich Road where I met her parents and young brother Geoffrey who was only eleven at the time. We met very regularly most days as I didn’t have much to do at Woodbridge and our friendship grew until by the end of December we had agreed to get married in 1946. Avis and I went to my parents home in Quadring on Boxing Day and spent a few days there before returning to Ipswich. At the end of December, I was promoted to Warrant Officer which made my weekly pay Six Pounds and Eleven Shillings which at the time was pretty good money. I continued to meet Avis regularly whilst the release groups from the RAF were in number order and I was number thirty five. With the assistance of my friend Bill Patterson who was then in the Release Centre, I went for demobilisation on 3rd April 1946. I collected my civilian outfit and returned to Ipswich to meet Avis again. Of course being released at that time meant that I had a quantity of clothing coupons which helped Avis considerably in getting her wedding outfit etc. The wedding was arranged for the 4th May 1946 and this took place at All Saints Church Ipswich. I continued to receive pay from the RAF until the end of Mat[sic] 1946 by which time I had resumed my work as an accountant with Hodgson Harris in Spalding. [wedding photograph] After living with my parents for 4 or 5 weeks, I managed to obtain a furnished flat in Spalding at 13 High Street which was along by the riverside. [page break] In 1950 when war broke out in Korea I decided to join the RAF Reserve and this meant going to No. 9 Reserve Flying School at Doncaster. I would attend there at weekends, taking part in various flying exercises. In August 1951 as part of Reserve Training, I did two weeks camp at Topcliffe in North Yorkshire and flew in Ansons on cross country exercise which also included a trip to Malta. The last trip I did was in an Anson in a North Sea search for the Spurn Lightship. This was on 1st February 1953. After this I was retired from the Reserve as I was over the age of twenty nine. Whilst on Operations we had nine days leave every six weeks and all received Ten Pounds per week from Lord Nuffield (The boss of Ford Motor Co). In appreciation of our services. Returning from leave sometimes could be worrying. In our huts there would be members from 4 or 5 different Crews and returning home some would be missing from raids. On one occasion there were members of 7 Crews in our hut and on our return from one sortie, 5 were missing. This was a huge shock! I thoroughly enjoyed all of my time with the RAF and would say that it was as good as going to a University. I realise that I am very fortunate to be still alive at the age of 92. I now have the medals of my service history including the Bomber Command Clasp for the 1939-1945 Star. I hope my story will be of interest to whoever may read it. [two pages from 189 Squadron Fulbeck logbook] [page break] [photograph of Andrew Gaunt as sub-postmaster at Pinchbeck] Jacks[sic] WW11 story and experiences have been brought together by Andrew Gaunt former Sub Postmaster of Pinchbeck (2000 to 2014), from recordings made by Jack of his time with the RAF and his personal recollections of events and flying missions that he was sent on. Utilising Jacks[sic] log book and researching events that he has referred to. It seemed appropriate that I brought Jacks[sic] recollections together having myself been a fellow Wireless Operator. Being a Marine Radio Officer from 1975 to 1986 and visiting many of the ports of the Middle East that Jack transited on his journey. Ironically Merchant ships no longer have a requirement to carry an R/O. This position disappeared in the 1990’s whilst the requirement to carry a W/O on aircraft was I believe removed sometime in the 1960’s. My own experiences took me frequently into areas of conflict notably the Persian/Arabian Gulf, regularly through the then dangerous Straits of Hormuz during the Iran/Iraq war and I also have my own vivid recollections of the Iranian Revolution. Acknowledgements are made to the following sources whose photos have been used although there appear to be many copies of the same photos on different sites. Polish Aircrew at RAF Bramcote – polishsquadronsremembered.com Troopship SS Otranto – britisharmedforces.org HMS Repulse – historyofwar.org HMS Prince of Wales – dailymail.co.uk Troopship SS Khedive Ismail – cruiselinehistory.com Blenheim Aircraft – spitfirespares.co.uk WW11 map of Iraq – en.wikipedia.org Percival Proctor Aircraft – en.wikipedia.org De Havilland Dominie Aircraft – rafyatesbury.webs.com Avro Anson Aircraft – uboat.net Vickers Wellington Aircraft – aviationresearch.co.uk Short Stirling Aircraft – aoth.17.dsl.pipex.com “Scarecrow” phenomena – awrm.gov.au Whilst the tragic fate of Repulse and Prince of Wales is a well known WW11 event, a lesser known event but equally tragic story lies in the fate of the SS Khedive Ismail which took Jack into the Persian Gulf in late 1941. The SS Khedive Ismail was sunk by a Japanese submarine on 12th February 1944 with the loss of 1,297 lives. The vessel Sank in just two minutes. For more information on this terrible event visit www.roll-of-honour.com/Ships/SSKhediveIsmail.htm The story is also covered in The book “Passage To Destiny” by Paul Watkins. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sparks in the air - Jack Smith's wartime story Description An account of the resource <p>Wartime recollections of John (known to his friends as Jack) George Smith from Pinchbeck. He tells of life before the war, how he went on to volunteer for the RAF in August 1940 and describes his training as a wireless operator. The document includes the radio school crest and a photograph of a Battle aircraft. He describes, in detail, his long voyage from Liverpool via Cape Town, eventually arriving at RAF Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and describes life and work on this station. He tells of medical issues and his subsequent posting to RAF Habbaniya in Iraq. Goes on to describe journey back to England overland via Gaza, Cairo and Alexandria, thence by ship. On returning he continues aircrew training at RAF Madley and Llandwrog in Wales. The document Includes photographs of Proctor, Dominie and Anson. After crewing up and starting operations on Wellington aircraft, he continues with postings to heavy conversion units and Lancaster finishing school before joining 189 Squadron at RAF Fulbeck. He then goes on to describes, in detail, operations from December 1944 to April 1945, including repatriating prisoners of war and Cook's tour to see damage to German cities. He describes life after the war including his marriage. The memoir includes photographs of Wellington. Stirling, night bombing, wedding and a page from logbook.</p> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource A Gaunt J Smith Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Twenty page printed book with b/w photographs Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BSmithJSmithJv1-2 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Lincolnshire England--Spalding England--Cheshire England--Lancashire England--Blackpool England--Wiltshire England--Liverpool South Africa South Africa--Cape Town South Africa--Durban India India--Mumbai Iraq Iraq--Baṣrah United Arab Emirates Iraq--Ḥabbānīyah Gaza Strip--Gaza Egypt--Cairo Egypt--Alexandria England--Herefordshire England--Northamptonshire Wales--Gwynedd England--Nottinghamshire Germany Germany--Heilbronn Germany--Giessen (Hesse) Poland Poland--Gdynia Belgium Belgium--Houffalize Germany--Wolfsburg (Lower Saxony) France France--Royan Czech Republic Germany--Karlsruhe Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal Germany--Dresden Germany--Leipzig Germany--Dortmund Atlantic Ocean--Oslofjorden Germany--Würzburg Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia) Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia) Belgium--Brussels Germany--Flensburg Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie) Scotland--Moray Egypt Gaza Strip Germany--Ruhr (Region) Czech Republic--Most North Africa United Arab Emirates--Shāriqah Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1937 1940-09 1940-11-04 1941-03 1941-08-31 1943-02 1943-12 1944-04 1944-06-12 1944-08-24 1944-11-09 1944-12-04 1944-12-06 1944-12-19 1944-12 1944-12-30 1945-01-01 1945-01-04 1945-01-16 1945-01-13 1945-02-01 1945-02-02 1945-02-07 1945-02-13 1945-02-14 1945-02-20 1945-02-23 1945-03-14 1945-03-16 1945-03-20 1945-03-23 1945-04-03 1945-04-23 1945-05-06 1945-05 Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Memoir Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource David Bloomfield Maureen Clarke Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive 1661 HCU 17 OTU 189 Squadron Advanced Flying Unit aircrew Anson Battle Blenheim bombing bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945) Cook’s tour crewing up Dominie Heavy Conversion Unit Lancaster Lancaster Finishing School military living conditions Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy Operation Exodus (1945) Operational Training Unit Proctor RAF Bramcote RAF Compton Bassett RAF Fulbeck RAF Llandwrog RAF Madley RAF Milltown RAF Padgate RAF Silverstone RAF Syerston RAF Turweston RAF Winthorpe RAF Woodbridge recruitment Scarecrow Stirling training Wellington wireless operator https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/641/32465/BSmithJSmithJv1.1.pdf 06d252abf25757870b967f73da7e1fc8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Smith, Jack John George Smith J G Smith Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Smith, JG Description An account of the resource Three items. An oral history interview with John 'Jack' Smith (1921 -2019) and his memoirs. He flew operations as a wireless operator with 189 Squadron. The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by John Smith and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-04-08 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sparks in the air - Jack Smith's wartime story Description An account of the resource Second version. Covers life before the war and volunteering for the RAF in August 1940 and continues with an account of training as a wireless operator. The article includes radio school crest and photograph of a Battle aircraft. He describes his voyage from Liverpool via Cape Town, eventually arriving at RAF Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, having travelled through several countries. He describes life and work on this station. Describes medical issues and subsequent posting to RAF Habbaniya in Iraq. Goes on to describe journey back to England overland via Gaza, Cairo and Alexandria thence by ship. Continues aircrew training at RAF Madley and Llandwrog in Wales. Includes photographs of Proctor, Dominie and Anson. Describes crewing up and starting operations on Wellington aircraft. He continues with postings to heavy conversion units and Lancaster finishing school before joining 189 Squadron at RAF Fulbeck. Describes operations from December 1944 to April 1945. Mentions repatriating prisoners of war and Cook's tour to see damage to German cities. Describes life after the war including his marriage. Includes photographs of Wellington. Stirling, night bombing, wedding and page from log book. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource A Gaunt J Smith Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Twenty-eight page printed document Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context BSmithJSmithJv1 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Lincolnshire England--Spalding England--Cheshire England--Lancashire England--Blackpool England--Wiltshire England--Liverpool South Africa South Africa--Cape Town South Africa--Durban India India--Mumbai Iraq Iraq--Baṣrah United Arab Emirates Iraq--Ḥabbānīyah Gaza Strip--Gaza Egypt--Cairo Egypt--Alexandria England--Herefordshire England--Northamptonshire Wales--Gwynedd England--Nottinghamshire Germany Germany--Heilbronn Germany--Giessen (Hesse) Poland Poland--Gdynia Belgium Belgium--Houffalize Germany--Wolfsburg (Lower Saxony) France France--Royan Czech Republic Germany--Karlsruhe Germany--Dortmund-Ems Canal Germany--Dresden Germany--Leipzig Germany--Dortmund Atlantic Ocean--Oslofjorden Germany--Würzburg Germany--Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia) Germany--Nordhausen (Thuringia) Belgium--Brussels Germany--Flensburg Poland--Police (Województwo Zachodniopomorskie) Scotland--Moray Egypt Gaza Strip Germany--Ruhr (Region) Czech Republic--Most North Africa United Arab Emirates--Shāriqah Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1937 1940-09 1940-11-04 1941-03 1941-08-31 1943-02 1944-04 1944-06-12 1944-08-24 1944-11-09 1944-12-04 1944-12-06 1944-12-19 1944-12 1944-12-30 1945-01-01 1945-01-04 1945-01-16 1945-01-13 1945-02-01 1945-02-02 1945-02-07 1945-02-13 1945-02-14 1945-02-20 1945-02-23 1945-03-14 1945-03-16 1945-03-20 1945-03-23 1945-04-03 1945-04-23 1945-05-06 1945-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Maureen Clarke 1661 HCU 17 OTU 189 Squadron Advanced Flying Unit aircrew Anson Battle Blenheim bombing bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945) Cook’s tour crewing up Dominie Heavy Conversion Unit Lancaster Lancaster Finishing School love and romance military living conditions Morse-keyed wireless telegraphy Operation Exodus (1945) Operational Training Unit Proctor RAF Bramcote RAF Compton Bassett RAF Fulbeck RAF Llandwrog RAF Madley RAF Milltown RAF Padgate RAF Silverstone RAF Syerston RAF Turweston RAF Winthorpe RAF Woodbridge recruitment Scarecrow Stirling training Wellington wireless operator https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/2482/42868/SHowardHF1158144v10007.1.jpg c54bb581348131a32ed26413971c5ceb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Howard, Henry Francis. Album Description An account of the resource One album with theatrical productions memorabilia. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021-07-27 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Howard, HF Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sprog corporals Description An account of the resource Three men standing around a fourth man seated on a wooden chair. They are bare chested and are outside a wooden building. The man seated is wearing identification tags and the man standing behind is wearing wire rimmed glasses. It is labelled 'Sprog corporals 4 wing. March 1941. (Doug-Gerry-Wallie-Henry)'. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03 Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Buckinghamshire Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource One b/w photograph on an album page Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SHowardHF1158144v10007 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive RAF Halton https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1230/15099/EHydeNCRedgraveJM410315-0001.1.jpg 11b76d0ba3a9d310e31a1de8f1452835 https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/1230/15099/EHydeNCRedgraveJM410315-0002.1.jpg 37374f1d3b6e6af6cefe95d089cf540a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Redgrave, Henry Cecil H C Redgrave Description An account of the resource 187 items. The collection concerns Henry Cecil Redgrave (743047, Royal Air Force) and contains his decorations, letters and photographs. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 207 Squadron from RAF Waddington. He was killed 13/14 March 1941.&nbsp; <br /><br />The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Pam Isaac and catalogued by Barry Hunter.<br /><br /><span>Additional information on Henry Cecil Redgrave is available via the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/119457/">IBCC Losses Database</a><span>.</span> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-10-02 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Redgrave, HC Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document Royal Air Force Station. Waddington. Lincs. 15[underlined] th [/underlined] March 1941 Dear Mrs Redgrave. I am writing on behalf of my squadron and myself to express to you our most sincere sympathy on the loss of your husband. You will already have recieved [sic] the notification of his death and I understand that you wish to have a service funeral here. I am not allowed at present, for obvious reasons, to give you full details as to how he met his end. But I can say that it was instantaneous and that it occured [sic] whilst flying in action against the enemy. [page break] [RAF Crest] If there is any further information that you would like, or if I can be of any assistance at any time, please write to me at the above adress [sic] In conclusion, I would like once more to express my deepest sympathy. Your husband had not been with us for long, but I was very impressed by his Quiet and efficient manner. His loss is one that can be ill afforded by the service and the country. Yours Sincerely, [underlined] N C Hyde [/underlined] Wing Commander (N.C. Hyde) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource To Jessie Redgrave from N C Hyde Description An account of the resource Two-page handwritten letter from Wing Commander N C Hyde to Jessie Redgrave. Wing Commander Hyde of RAF Waddington writes of his sympathy on the death of her husband Harry. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource N C Hyde Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941-03-15 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Two handwritten sheets Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Text. Correspondence Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context EHydeNCRedgraveJM410315-0001, EHydeNCRedgraveJM410315-0002 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Civilian Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Great Britain England--Lincolnshire Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 aircrew killed in action navigator RAF Waddington https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/files/original/474/8390/PClydeSmithD16010004.jpg 972f828611d6c2316b5aefb70a8f5dd5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clyde-Smith, Denis Clyde-Smith, D Description An account of the resource Collection contains 34 items and concerns Squadron Leader Denis Clyde-Smith Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross, who joined the Royal Air Force and trained as a pilot in 1937. He flew in the anti aircraft cooperation role including remotely piloted Queen Bee aircraft before serving on Battle aircraft on 32 Squadron. He completed operational tours on Wellington with 115 and 218 Squadrons and Wellington and Lancaster with 9 Squadron after which he went to the aircraft and armament experimental establishment at Boscombe Down. The collection consists of two logbooks, aircraft histories of some of the aircraft he flew, photographs of people and aircraft, newspaper articles, a long memoir of his service and gallantry award certificate. The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Clyde-Smith and catalogued by Nigel Huckins. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-09-19 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Clyde-Smith, D Transcribed document A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Transcription Text transcribed from audio recording or document [2 Photographs] Wellington Bomber HA.A [underneath]R1008[/underneath] 10 Targets Flown Mar: 1941 to July 1941 Brest. Hamburg. Berlin Essen Douseldorf [sic] Kiel. Cologne. Bremen Lancaster. 4133. WS.Z ZOLA August 1942 to November 1942. Wisman Munich. Gennoa Turin Aachen. Kiel Hamburg Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wellington Bomber and its operations Description An account of the resource Two pictures of Wellington 'HA-A', parked on grass. Left image from rear quarter with two wheeled equipment in foreground and two men under the starboard wing. Right image from the front quarter with a man crouching by boarding ladder under the cockpit. At the bottom a card title 'Wellington Bomber HA-A, R1008, targets flown' from March to July 1941. Then lists targets flown. Followed by Lancaster 4133 WS-Z with targets flown from August to November 1942. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Two b/w photographs and one handwritten card Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Photograph Text Text. Personal research Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context PClydeSmithD16010004 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Royal Air Force Royal Air Force. Bomber Command Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. France France--Brest Italy Italy--Genoa Italy--Turin Germany--Essen Germany--Hamburg Germany--Berlin Germany--Kiel Atlantic Ocean--Baltic Sea Germany--Cologne Germany--Bremen Germany--Wismar Germany--Munich Germany--Aachen Germany--Düsseldorf Germany Germany--Ruhr (Region) Temporal Coverage Temporal characteristics of the resource. 1941-03 1941-07 1942-08 1942-10 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBCC Digital Archive Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Steve Baldwin 218 Squadron bombing Lancaster Wellington